JAKARTA – Responding to the accusation that palm oil industries employ underage children, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) has been initiating since 2021 a national movement called “Sawit Indonesia Ramah Anak” (SIRA) or Indonesia’s Child-friendly movement in palm oil industries. Through this initiative, GAPKI is committed to ensuring that the palm oil industries in Indonesia are free from child labor and respect children’s rights.
“The SIRA movement is aimed not only to ensure that there is no child labor in palm oil industries, but also to provide necessary facilities to respect, protect, and fulfill children’s rights,” GAPKI Human Resources Development Division Head Sumarjono Saragih said.
SIRA commitment has been realized through a number of activities, which include providing childcare facilities, establishment of children’s associations, school buses, integrated health service post (Posyandu), health centers, and development of schools in the oil palm plantations. The steps have been acknowledged as the important factor in villages in preparing golden generation in the future.
To expand public awareness on the SIRA movement, GAPKI had again organized a workshop and seminar on ‘Indonesian Palm Oil Industries are friendly to children” in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, on 22-25 October 2024. During the event, participants discussed about guidelines on SIRA, which was published in 2022 by GAPKI in cooperation with the government and children protection organizations.
Previously, a similar event was held in in Papua in June 2024 with the theme of ‘Golden Papua 2045 With Palm Oil’. Such event is also planned to be organized regularly in 15 provinces, which have GAPKI representatives.
“Indonesia’s palm oil industries do not only comply with prevailing laws, but also contribute to the national agenda of Golden Indonesia 2045. The SIRA movement is expected to create a strong foundation for the golden generation and realize an advanced and socially just Indonesia,” added Sumarjono.
Indonesia’s palm oil industry will celebrate its 113rd anniversary on 18 November 2024, which is counted since first commercial planting by European business people in 1911 in Raja Asahan island, North Sumatera and Sei Liput, Aceh. Currently, the date is celebrated as national palm oil day (Hari Sawit Nasional). Having a total global market share of 55%, the palm oil industries make Indonesia as the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Based on data 2022, the palm industries contribute Rp600 trillion in foreign exchange earnings and employ more than 16 million workers in thousands of villages in 160 regencies across Indonesia. (*)
