Employees

At the end of 2022, the group’s workforce (which includes non-executive directors) numbered 9,138 compared with 8,215 at the end of 2021. The increase arose from the decision to recruit additional workers for the field operations to accelerate recovery of optimal upkeep standards following the negative impact on standards of the very high rainfall in the first half of 2022.

Additionally, there were several new appointments to key senior and middle management roles to strengthen leadership across the operational and administrative functions. A new director of human resources was also appointed to the REA Kaltim board with the aim of promoting the group’s objectives and values throughout the group and to help embed these into all of the group’s activities.

2022 2021
Resignations Turnover (%) Resignations Turnover (%)
Management 2 2 9 13
Other permanent staff 26 8 32 12
Rest of workforce 833 10 845 11
Total 861 9 886 11

The group endeavours to provide competitive remuneration packages, opportunities for career development, and a decent standard of living on the estates for employees and their families in order to attract and retain staff at all levels. This is particularly important given the remote location of the group’s estates.

Male and female employees in the same role (such as, for example, harvesting, manuring, spraying, and positions in the office and workshop) receive the same salary.

Wherever possible the group seeks to employ local people and contractors in an effort to contribute to the local economy and create a stable workforce.

REA complies with all Indonesian labour regulations, which are based on the core standards of the International Labour Organisation.

Management

Overall responsibility for the group’s affairs resides with the group managing director, who is based in the UK. The president director of the group’s principal operating subsidiary, REA Kaltim, together with three fellow directors of REA Kaltim, all of whom are based in Indonesia, has local responsibility for the group’s operations in Indonesia, covering the estate operations, corporate affairs, ESG, commercial administration and finance.

As a foreign investor in Indonesia, the group is conscious that it is in essence a guest in Indonesia and an understanding of local customs and sensitivities is important. The group’s ability to rely on senior Indonesian staff to handle its local interface is therefore a significant asset upon which the group continues to build. This asset is augmented by the support and advice that the group obtains from local advisers and from the local non-controlling investors in, and local commissioners of, the group’s Indonesian subsidiaries.

Read more about labour standards and health and safety within REA’s operations