Paid urbanism : the socio-geographic effects of subsidies and government spending

Die erste Ausgabe des Magazins Monu hat das Thema Paid Urbanism und untersucht urbane Veränderungen, verursacht durch Staatssubventionen. Es werden Projekte und Artikel von amerikanischen und europäischen Autoren präsentiert, die den Einfluss von Paid Urbanism auf die Form unterschiedlichster Orte wie Chicago, Coney Island (New York City) und Thüringen untersuchen und reflektieren.

Employment and Income of Workers on Indonesian Oil Palm Plantations: Food Crisis at the Micro Level

The importance of oil palm sector for Indonesia is inevitable as the country currently serves as the world’s largest producer of crude palm oil. This paper focuses on the situation of workers on Indonesian oil palm plantations. It attempts to investigate whether the remarkable development of the sector is followed by employment opportunities and income generation for workers. This question is posed within the theoretical framework on the link between trade liberalisation and labour rights, particularly in a labour-intensive and low-skilled sector. Based on extensive field research in Riau, this paper confirms that despite the rapid development of the oil palm plantation sector in Indonesia, the situations of workers in the sector remain deplorable, particularly their employment status and income. This also attests that trade liberalisation in the sector adversely affects labour rights. The poor working conditions also have ramifications for food security at the micro level.