GAPKI Reveals the Key to More Productive and Competitive Palm Oil Industry

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - Various efforts to improve the safety and security of workers will contribute positively to increasing productivity and strengthening the competitiveness of the national palm oil industry.

Chairman of the Human Resources Development for the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (GAPKI), Sumarjono Saragih, said that the implementation of occupational safety and health (K3) standards in plantations and palm oil mills is a strategic investment for industry sustainability. He said, protection of workers will provide many benefits to the national palm oil industry.

Sumarjono Saragih explained that some of the positive benefits of implementing K3 include protecting workers' health, increasing productivity, and supporting sustainable practices.

"Especially in the palm oil sector, in fact, the K3 aspect has become part of the sustainability standard," he said in Jakarta, Tuesday (11/8/2026).

Sumarjono emphasized that K3 implementation must be implemented throughout the entire palm oil industry chain, from plantations to processing plants, including those in remote areas. He hopes that worker protection will not only reach workers in corporations but also farmers and workers in people's plantations.

Until now, the government through the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) has continued to encourage the improvement of the safety and security of workers in the palm oil sector. In addition, BPDP is actively improving the quality of human resources in the national palm oil industry, one of which is through the Palm Oil Plantation Human Resources Development Training Program.

The Palm Oil Plantation Human Resources Development Training Program has the objective of improving the competence of the workforce while strengthening the K3 culture in the industrial environment.

"In my opinion, K3 must continue to be a concern and become part of the business process," he said.

He ensured that the safety and health of workers in the palm oil industry had been adopted into various certification rules and schemes such as the national Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) standard to the international standard of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). The implementation of K3 is not only mandatory but also an important indicator in realizing a sustainable and globally competitive palm oil industry.

"If we dare to say sustainable palm oil, then we must also ask, what about protection for workers? Because it is a right that must be fulfilled including the right to social security and occupational safety," he said.

The Executive Director of the Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute (PASPI), Tungkot Sipayung, reminded that the implementation of K3 is one of the important aspects in fulfilling the ISPO and RSPO certification standards.

Tungkot Sipayung explained that the implementation of K3 is not merely fulfilling administrative requirements but is part of efforts to improve the quality of human resources in the palm oil industry. Consistent implementation of K3 will be able to improve worker welfare, strengthen labor loyalty, and create a safer and more productive working environment.

"If K3 is implemented properly, the loyalty of workers to survive in the company will occur and productivity will increase. All of these will contribute to business and social sustainability," he explained.

Tungkot encourages, the implementation of K3 can be carried out consistently at the operational level so that it can have a positive impact on the productivity of the company as well as the improvement of the reputation of the national palm oil industry.

"ISPO and RSPO standards already exist. The role of the government in conditioning the implementation of K3 is also there, namely the legislation related to labor. So, it's just implementation in the company's operations," he concluded.