PALMOILMAGAZINE, LHOKSEUMAWE – The palm oil plantations in North Aceh Regency are expanding, but palm oil laborers are grappling with the reality of receiving only Rp 200 per kilogram of harvested fresh fruit bunches (FFB).
According to Mustafa, a palm oil laborer, this compensation is meant to cover the costs associated with picking each seed and transporting them. The FFB harvesting process entails picking and transporting the fruits to the warehouse.
“Picking up seeds includes the costs to ease the FFB transportation to the warehouse,” Mustafa where he lives in Gampoeng Batu Enam, Sub district of Simpang Kramat, said, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from RRI, Tuesday (6/2/2024).
He also mentioned every harvest, he could do up to 5000 kilograms. If the plantations are flat with no hill, the numbers could be 6000 kilograms from morning to evening.
But the issue he faced was when it was raining. “Harvesting in rainy day would be difficult, besides it is slippery, the rain would have something to do when cutting of the FFB,” Mustafa said.
It is a challenge when harvesting in rainy day or after rain because the cutting tool would be difficult to cut off. “In this situation, I could only cut off about about 3000 kilograms only,” he said.
The reality of payment that many palm oil labors face in Regency of Aceh Utara reflected the challenges and limit, namely when it was in rainy day. many labors face difficulties and this raised question about their welfare and protection in the field. (T2)
