For this young Indonesian living near a plantation that supplies the cosmetics brand L’Occitane, child labor is a major concern. Under cover of anonymity, Anna (an assumed first name) answers questions from the magazine “Cash Investigation” (replay): “There were big fires, especially in this plantation. I was there for my work and saw many children fleeing for safety. I was surprised, so I asked them why they weren’t in school. They were between 7 and 12 years old and they told me no, they weren’t going because they were helping their parents.“
Anna lives on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. For the survey, she proposes to apply in this palm grove whose name is EWF (Erasakti Wira Forestama): “I leave for the plantation and I will sleep on the spot“, says the young woman recruited for a week on probation. She must buy or rent her equipment, the employer not providing her with either protection or materials. To reach the plantation, you have to ride a scooter for two hours and go well to the beyond the last paved roads.In this humid region, the plants grow back very quickly at the foot of the palm trees…
Spreading pesticide without any protection
Anna carries a hidden camera. She was hired to weed. It is mainly women who take care of this task. All are equipped with the same antiquated tanks which, when full, will weigh more than 20 kg. Two teenage girls join Anna’s team. Linda is 15 and has been working since she was 12; Intan is 13 and she too started working at 12, Anna reports.
The two young girls collect the pesticides from a company foreman wearing a helmet when they are each wearing only a simple scarf. In Indonesia, however, hazardous work is prohibited for those under 18. Then they sink under the oil palm trees. The workers have very specific objectives to achieve in order to be paid. Every day, they have to spread 160 liters of pesticides, without masks or gloves, on a 2.5 kilometer row of palm trees. For Anna, who is just starting out, the pace is exhausting…
> Right of reply
Elise Lucet showed this excerpt to Adeline Hazan, president of Unicef France: “It dismays me and even disgusts me to see 12-year-old kids working. It’s obvious. It revolts me, especially since it is the DNA of Unicef to fight against child labor“, she says. On the other hand, L’Occitane responded in writing to “Cash Investigation”: “We were completely unaware of the allegations. They are extremely serious and if they were true, we are deeply shocked because they do not correspond in any way to our commitments.“
“Companies, sponsorship, associations: dangerous liaisons”, an investigation by Gabriel Garcia, broadcast Thursday October 20, 2022 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2.
> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the Franceinfo website and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.