Eco-Business (11/12/2017) - Report reveals how workers are routinely exposed to hazardous pesticides, paid low, illegally kept in temporary work status to fill core jobs, and deterred from forming independent labor unions.

For almost a decade, Bambang has labored on an oil palm estate owned by the Salim Group conglomerate in North Sumatra.

Every day, he and his wife rise before 6 a.m. to prepare for work. Bambang cuts the palm fruit bunches from high in the treetops, while his wife gathers what falls to the ground. They usually do this until 4 p.m.

But while they both work full time, only Bambang is paid by the company. His wife is a kernet — an unofficial laborer who helps harvesters meet unrealistic quotas, but who have no direct relationship with the company.