Recent reports by NGOs and other external monitoring mechanisms have been highlighting labour exploitation in oil palm plantations, including in RSPO member companies. There appears to be cases of potential serious labour abuses and violations including forced labour, child labour, gender discrimination, as well as exploitative and dangerous working practices, which are putting workers’ health and safety at risk.
Besides the external reports, there has also been a rise in the number of complaints made to the RSPO related to labour violations, by RSPO members. These reports have led to questions on the effectiveness and the credibility of the RSPO Certification system.
Responsively, the RSPO Secretariat is calling for interested parties to conduct an independent assessment and/or study to determine the level of compliance and particularly in certified management units in Indonesia. The details of this study are outlined in the Terms of Reference below.
If you are interested in conducting this study or have any further inquiries relating to this, please contact [email protected]. The closing date to submit proposals will be 29 May 2017.
