Palm-oil industry considers using convicts amid virus-driven labour shortage
Growers’ group wants to rope in more petty offenders from overcrowded prisons to do dirty and dangerous work as lockdown keeps foreign workers away
09 September 2020 - 18:48
Kuala Lumpur — The coronavirus crisis has pushed the Malaysian palm-oil industry into a labour crunch so severe that it is turning to convicts for help.
Producers of the tropical oil are reaching out to prison departments in search of locals for work in the palm industry that is considered dirty, difficult and dangerous, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, a growers’ group that represents 40% of the palm-planted area in the country...
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