Twenty-five prospective migrant workers seeking employment in the palm oil sector from East Nusa Tenggara participated at the training workshop held from 17-18 October in Kupang. The workshop aimed to gather primary data and information about the context, challenges and trends faced by workers seeking employment in the palm oil plantation sector in Malaysia during the pre-departure phase.

The workshop was a part of the ILO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s joint initiative to enhance the protection of Indonesian migrant workers’ labour rights in Malaysia. During the workshop, the participants consisting of 24 men and 1 woman actively involved in providing inputs, reviews, and feedbacks to enrich the contents of pre-departure training modules as well as educational and informational materials related to the pre-departure preparation.

The modules and the materials would be used by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI), labour inspectors, trade unions and other relevant organizations to equip the capacity of and improve the knowledge of potential migrant workers, particularly those seeking employment in the palm oil sector in Malaysia regarding their labour rights and their preparedness working abroad.

Sylvia Pekujawang, Head of the Provincial Manpower and Cooperative Department of East Nusa Tenggara, hoped that the modules and informational materials would strengthen the protection of potential Indonesian migrant workers. “We, thus, strongly support the collaboration between international institutions such as the ILO and the IOM to enhance capacity of instructors and institutions related to labour migration. We also hope that both modules and materials can be widely disseminated to Indonesia’s main sending areas,” she said.

Meanwhile, Yunirwan Gah, National Project Coordinator for Advancing Workers’ Rights in Indonesia’s Palm Oil Sector, said that “both modules and informational materials can be disseminated to educate potential Indonesian migrant workers and to socialize about the importance of safe migration while supporting the search for a decent job in the palm oil plantation sector in Malaysia.”

Similarly, Shafira Ayunindya, Acting Head of IOM’s Counter Trafficking and Labour Migration Unit, highlighted the urgency of increased accesses to relevant and suitable information regarding employment regulations, living and working conditions as well as the culture and labour rights in the destination country. “This basic information is important to ease the transition into the country of destination and empower them with necessary and useful information.”

The ILO support was provided by its Advancing Workers’ Rights in Indonesia and Malaysia’s Palm Oil Sector Project. In Indonesia, the project aims to ensure that Indonesian unions in the palm oil supply chain effectively advocate their members’ on fundamental workers’ rights, while in Malaysia aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour and forced labour in oil palm plantations,