What’s the use of plantations without enough workers? — File photo
FOR the past couple of months, there has been a raging debate on the subject of recruitment of some 12,000 workers from Bangladesh for the oil palm plantations in Sarawak. There were around 440 plantations operating in the state as of April 2013. There may be more now. These estates need labourers to work urgently otherwise the companies would be in financial trouble.
A figure of RM1 billion has been plucked out of the air by someone. It is considered a terrible loss to the estates because there were not enough workers to pluck the fresh fruit bunches. As these plantations with mature palms can no longer afford to lose that much, it is a necessity to recruit more workers urgently. So turning to the Bangladeshis seems to be the solution.
On the proposition side are the federal Ministry of Human Resources, aided and abetted by the state’s Ministry of Land Development. On the opposition side are certain NGOs run by Sarawakians championing the rights of local workers, who demand the right to employment in the plantations in their own backyards.
However, before these NGOs could continue with the debate, they have been told to produce 30,000 harvesters – or else to hold their tongues. Talk about the freedom of speech! The reason or reasoning advanced to justify recruiting large numbers of Bangladeshis is that locals do not want to do that kind of job, but the foreigners do. They have been shown a couple of video clips on what they might expect while working in the plantations in Sarawak and would be happy to try their hands at harvesting palm fruits.
The locals are said to be lacking in work ethnics and discipline required by the plantation industry, implying that the Bangladeshis possess all these virtues. So they are acceptable to the plantation contractors.
However, the mantra that the plantation work is dirty and the locals cannot or won’t handle heavy physical work strikes me as a bit of a myth. Many of us have known for years about the true character and the capability of the local workers and what they actually want.
What the locals want
What all able-bodied locals, as humans, want is a better deal in terms of a regular minimum wage of at least RM800 per month (Tan Sri Zainal Rampak, true blue workers’ champion even suggested RM1,900) plus some perks like enrolment in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), protection under Socso wherever applicable, and personal accident insurance coverage.
I tend to agree with this line of thinking because I have a certain amount of personal experience in the plantation industry.
However, what Sarawakian workers want is not what the private plantation companies can easily accede to. The companies supported by politicians with vested interests may go bankrupt the next day if they accept what the Sarawakians want. As one presenter of a working paper on ‘Native Land Development’ at a seminar to which I was kindly invited a few years ago, said, “The planters do not owe the native landowners a living … We are not running welfare organisations”.
This statement of attitude of many investors in respect of development of NCR land in Sarawak has been etched in my mind ever since. That, unfortunately, seems to be the attitude of many investors in plantation projects in the Third World. However, any company that implements this policy in Sarawak is not considered one with a human face. It’s better that they keep their money and we keep our land until we are in a better position to use the land ourselves.
If local workers are being treated like they had no right to be paid decent wages, nobody should be surprised if they don’t want a job on a plantation. I have noticed lately that their own leaders tend to fight for the interests of the companies rather than for the rights of their own people. I’m sad.
I’ve always thought that charity begins at home but judging by how our people are being treated in terms of employment in the plantation industry, I’m not so sure now.
Why Bangladeshis only?
And now, another question: why can’t Indonesians, who have been coming and going looking for work in Sarawak, be employed in the plantations instead of the Bangladeshis? These are our immediate neighbours. Many are not registered with their consulate and are technically illegal migrants but if they want jobs here, something can be done about it. Law is made for man not man for the law.
Approach their Consulate-General in Kuching for some advice. I’m sure there will be some solution to the shortage of workers in the plantations if these men can be employed as harvesters. They do not need to see the video clips on how to pluck oil palm fruits. They have plantations across the border and are familiar with the working conditions over here. I think they can better adapt to the local working conditions than other foreign workers can. And, a great point, they are familiar with our language and culture.
Actually, any oil palm planting company worth its salt knows exactly how many workers it needs over a period of time, category by category: clearing, planting, pruning, maintenance stages through to harvesting time for up to 20 to 25 years before replanting.
This is the kind of plantation firm we need; any other type is a fly-by-night outfit. They have got land from the government with the intention of making a quick buck by selling or transferring of rights and interests in land … oops, sorry, by changing the board
of directors of a company. All okay legally. Morally? Who cares!
This method has made a number of people instant millionaires out of land which in many cases was proven in court as belonging to the natives. Several companies have changed hands in this way for the past several years. Prove me wrong.
Poor manpower planning
The urge to recruit foreign workers by the plantation companies in Sarawak is a result of poor manpower planning in the first place. The main culprits are those companies who, once given a lease, aim to sell the company for a quick buck. The ones who end up with no bucks and no land are, guess who? The natives!
Comments can reach the writer via [email protected].