Tate & Lyle accused of betraying Cambodia families whose land was allegedly taken
Tate & Lyle has been accused of betraying 200 families in Cambodia who’ve fought for years to safe compensation for land they are saying was taken from them to make approach for a sugar plantation.
Residents in Koh Kong, Cambodia, say their livelihoods, and their kids’s futures, have been devastated when their land was taken from them in a course of that started in 2006. The land was later used to provide sugar to Tate & Lyle.
Seven years in the past, the Guardian interviewed affected communities who described how, with out house to farm, that they had little alternative however to work on the plantation, which was run by Thai KSL Group.
People who labored for KSL in Cambodia stated they earned as little as 79p a day reducing 1,000 stems of sugar cane, and that kids as younger as 9 have been amongst these working. KSL subsequently denied allegations that it had used baby labour, and stated that its staff earned an honest wage.
In 2013, 200 families from Sre Ambel district launched a lawsuit in opposition to Tate & Lyle within the excessive courtroom in London, claiming that Tate & Lyle knew – or ought to have recognized – of the allegations in opposition to its provider. They demanded compensation for the worth of sugar grown on land they allege nonetheless belongs to them.
Drawn-out negotiations adopted, and families say that they have been led to imagine that they may anticipate vital compensation from Tate & Lyle. Yet, earlier this 12 months, they are saying, the sugar firm stated it will not pay something.
“Initially we thought that Tate & Lyle respected human rights, and we hoped they would take responsibility,” stated Ann Haiya, a group chief from Koh Kong.
“The community is very, very angry and feels hopeless, but they will keep their will to work with the community leaders to keep fighting against Tate & Lyle,” he added.
In a press release, Martyn Day, senior associate on the agency Leigh Day, which represents the families, stated it was disappointing that Tate & Lyle had chosen to stroll away from the settlement discussions. “The claimants entered into settlement discussions with Tate & Lyle in good faith over six years ago, but these discussions have led to nothing but empty promises and disappointment,” he stated.
Tate & Lyle, Day stated, had been unique beneficiaries of the sugar produced on the land for a quantity of years and have been concerned within the plantation “from an early stage”.
When requested whether or not it meant to pay compensation to affected families, Tate & Lyle Sugars stated it will proceed to make use of any leverage it had “to ensure the villagers receive financial compensation from KSL and its ex-business partner”.
The firm stated it put strain on its provider over seven years “through many trips to Cambodia and meetings with various interested parties, including the Cambodian government”.
Tate & Lyle used the KSL Group for its provides from Cambodia from 2011, and stopped shopping for sugar from the nation in 2013.
The 200 families have acquired 1.5 hectares of land every from KSL Group via a government-led scheme, whereas affected communities elsewhere, who didn’t pursue authorized motion, have acquired monetary compensation.
It is known that KSL really feel they’ve discharged their accountability in the direction of the families by allocating 300 hectares of land.
Tate & Lyle says it believes it helped convey in regards to the project of land to families – a declare Leigh Day disputes.
Community leaders say the compensation acquired to this point is totally insufficient, and that the 1.5 hectares of land is, for a lot of, only a fraction of what they misplaced. Many have been compelled to promote their compensation plots instantly as a result of they desperately wanted to repay money owed that they had gathered because of this of the ordeal.
“Before, we used our land to cultivate rice, and farm cashew, mango and jackfruit – part of it we sell, part of it we use,” stated Ann. He misplaced 13.5 hectares of land in 2006, he stated.
In order to purchase meals and pay for fundamentals comparable to healthcare, he, like others, had little alternative however to borrow cash. “The loan becomes like double loan,” he stated, including that money owed rapidly rose.
Day stated that it was “wholly inadequate” for Tate & Lyle to recommend that accountability for monetary compensation lay solely with its provider. “The losses suffered by the claimants were well documented and widely reported and Tate & Lyle were well aware of their losses when they received sugar from KSL’s plantation,” he stated.
The financial injury wrought on families is difficult to quantify, stated Eang Vuthy, government director of Equitable Cambodia, an NGO that has supported affected families. Some younger folks have needed to migrate to neighbouring international locations, leaving their families behind, in order that they will ship again cash. “When people migrate they are again exposed to great vulnerability in the new place,” he stated.
Community leaders in Koh Kong stated that in lots of instances kids had been unable to complete faculty as a result of of the monetary pressures dealing with their families, and now have even better challenges to find work.
Eang stated Tate & Lyle ought to decide to speedily finalising a settlement. “Until they do so, its consumers should be aware that by supporting Tate & Lyle’s business, they are making it easier for the company to avoid its responsibility.”
In a press release Tate & Lyle Sugars stated: “We recognise our responsibilities under the OECD guidelines for multinational companies to use our leverage to ensure our Cambodian ex-supplier KSL compensates the villagers for the damage they have suffered.”
It added that it was annoyed that not all affected families have acquired monetary compensation. “We are actively working with other stakeholders to see what pressure we can bring to bear,” the corporate stated.
