SIME Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has requested for more details from anti-trafficking group Liberty Shared (LS) regarding allegations that the oil palm planter used forced and child labour to produce palm oil and related products.
“As a matter of urgency and to ensure that any potential issues are expeditiously resolved, we have contacted LS by e-mail and have had a tele-conversation with Duncan Jepson, the author of the petition, to initiate discussions and to better understand concerns raised,” the group said in a statement today.
LS submitted a petition on April 20 to the US Customs and Border Protection seeking to block SDP’s exports to the US which is estimated at US$3 mil annually, based on FY19 volumes.
But SDP said that if there had been human rights infringements, “we will immediately institute appropriate corrective actions to secure the wellbeing of all our employees.”
The group, according to SDP, had requested for further details and information of the breaches and serious allegations alleged in LS’s petition.
“Despite the absence of such crucial information at this time, we will still provide our initial response in the best possible manner, based on statements contained in the petition summary, and our internal records relating to the matters raised,” SDP said.
The group also included an appendix with the press statement outlining LS’s petition summary and its response to each item, including its policy of hiring workers above 18 years old.
SDP’s shares closed 1.41% higher at RM5.03, valuing the group at RM34.63 bil. – July 10, 2020
