Providing employees with safe working conditions is of paramount importance. REA’s target is to achieve zero fatalities and a continuous reduction in lost time incident (LTI) rates.

REA maintains appropriate policies and socialisation of health and safety protocols for employees, contractors and visitors to its sites.

REA is undertaking in 2024 an independent company-wide safety audit to achieve certification in accordance with Indonesian Health and Safety Work Management System SMK3 and international standards of Operational Health and Safety Management System ISO (45001:2018). Meanwhile, monthly internal occupational health, safety and environment inspections and training have continued to be conducted against these standards in order to understand better, highlight and manage potential health and safety hazards that may occur. Routine training covers safe working practices throughout the operations, fire risks and management, and first aid.

It takes time for health and safety practices to become fully embedded in workforce practices. A range of measures have been implemented to address the issues identified during audit assessments. These include:

• Introduction of a more comprehensive safety induction for new employees and contractors
• Provision of training to ensure that high risk tasks are carried out safely, including working at height and in confined spaces
• Integration of the actions necessary to eliminate and control hazards into existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as well as the development of new SOPs
• Introduction of a more rigorous and inclusive incident investigation procedure, which is designed to ensure that the cause of any incident is identified and the senior management team and operations team understand the remedial action needed to prevent such an incident from recurring
• Structural improvements, particularly in the mills, to control physical hazards.

Roads in and around the group’s operations can be hazardous, particularly after heavy rain, so drivers of all vehicles are required to pass a company test for driving competency. Motorcycle safety training is also provided for employees and their family members as motorcycles are their standard mode of transport. Additionally, the group provides training on action in the event of natural disasters, the impact of which could potentially be significant given the remote location of the group’s operations.

During 2023, REA implemented a vehicle tracking system to improve the management, control and safety of vehicle usage. Additionally, a maximum speed limit of 50km per hour was introduced and is enforced throughout the estates to improve safety and reduce environmental impacts.

OHS training across all of REA’s operations continued through 2023 to increase employee awareness and understanding of safe working practices and behaviours. Government mandated regulatory safety training is conducted for certified safety managers, vehicle and heavy equipment operators, users of pesticides, and first aid and fire prevention officers. More frequent inspections and internal audits have been introduced to target a reduction in the number of work accidents.

In 2023, REA recorded 1,367 work incident cases (2022: 993) and 1,256 working days lost (2022: 6,830), as the LTIFR in 2023 was 17.9 compared with 11.8 in 2022. As reported previously, a regrettable incident in 2022 resulted in a fatality which meant that a mandatory 6,000 lost working days had to be recorded. The increase in incidents and working days lost are largely accounted for by the increase in the number of fixed term contract workers many of whom lacked experience of harvesting in the challenging tall palm areas. REA has a rigorous accident reporting and investigation procedure to ensure that the cause of any incident is properly identified, and senior management and operational teams implement any necessary remedial actions to prevent, or minimise the risk of, repeat occurrences. REA is promoting more rigorous management of health and safety through the SMK3 audit process.