"Palm-Oil Migrant Workers Tell of Abuses on Malaysian Plantations", 26 July 2015

[In Jempol, Malaysia]...among the workers is Mohammad Rubel...who said he has been [working on palm oil plantations] seven days a week, without receiving any pay, since he arrived from Bangladesh...under the auspices of human smugglers. To get here, Mr. Rubel said, he endured three weeks in a crowded boat with inadequate food and water, followed by more weeks confined in a jungle camp while guards extorted a ransom from his parents back home. He said he saw dozens of fellow illegal migrants die from exhaustion, disease or beatings. Many of the undocumented migrants end up in Malaysia, which exports nearly $12 billion of palm oil a year...The plantation where Mr. Rubel works is controlled by Felda Global Ventures...one of the largest producers of crude palm oil. Its customers...include...Cargill..., which resells the oil to multinationals such as Nestlé...and Procter & Gamble...Felda said workers on its plantations...are afforded basic rights and earn the minimum wage. Cargill and its customers said they weren’t aware of alleged labor abuses on palm-oil plantations and would investigate...Felda is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil...The RSPO’s secretary-general...said he was unaware of any abuses faced by workers on Felda plantations but would investigate...Nestlé said it was unaware of conditions at Felda’s plantations but was refocusing resources to “ensure that our responsible sourcing requirements are met” in Malaysia. P&G said it would look into the allegations and “take any necessary corrective action.”