3-4 minute read
As part of Earthworm’s Sabah Landscape initiatives to improve human rights due diligence in the palm oil supply chain, on 20th August 2024 in Sandakan, Sabah, Earthworm Foundation held its first closed-door roundtable discussion on ethical recruitment, “Improving the Ethical Recruitment Ecosystem in Sabah”. Mid-stream and upstream palm oil companies as well as government agencies actively contributed to sharing their views and perspectives on how to implement ethical recruitment principles in the context of the recruitment of migrant workers in the palm oil industry in Sabah.
In Sabah, where borders are often acknowledged to be more porous than Peninsular Malaysia, recruitment processes may also be less regulated, where several informal channels exist that workers can use to obtain work. These irregular pathways of migration can compound risks faced by these workers in the recruitment process. There are also certain recruitment pathways that are unique to the Sabah context such as periodic state-organised regularisation programmes of migrant workers.
This roundtable discussion therefore aimed to provide insights into on-the-ground recruitment patterns, practices and challenges in Sabah, drawing on a study commissioned by Earthworm on “Mapping of Migrant Workers’ Recruitment in Sabah”, conducted by Dr Andika Wahab, Research Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Mattias Carlson, Program Coordinator at the International Organization of Migration (IOM) started the event with his keynote address, which emphasised the importance of implementing ethical recruitment, particularly since much of the exploitation of migrant workers begins at the recruitment stage. He also highlighted the role of companies in addressing this issue, stating, “The issue of ethical recruitment is a challenging one, but there are already steps that companies can take to implement better and more ethical recruitment practices in their operations such as conducting effective due diligence on their business partners, signing binding contracts and agreements, and establishing effective grievance mechanisms that allows migrant workers to raise complaints in a safe and confidential way.”
Dr Andika Wahab then kicked off the next session by presenting the findings of his study. He highlighted the current laws and policies governing the recruitment and employment of migrant workers in Sabah’s palm oil sector. He also shared aspects of his findings such as the level of awareness amongst palm oil growers on ethical recruitment; recruitment practices employed by the various size of palm oil growers, and issues raised by workers. Finally, he presented his recommendations on how to develop a business eco-system that would support the implementation of ethical recruitment principles and standards in Sabah, taking into account its unique context.
The final session of the day, a discussion session, provided attendees with the space and opportunity to share their views on Dr Andika’s findings. The participants stated that they found Dr Andika’s study insightful, and were keen to share their thoughts, such as expressing a need for Private Recruitment Agents (PRAs) to practice ethical recruitment on their side, as they play a critical role in assisting palm oil companies in the recruitment of migrant workers, as well as for international standards to take into account the challenges facing Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in improving their recruitment practices.
The information shared by the attendees was captured by the Earthworm team, with the aim of using them to determine the depth, scope and pace of upcoming ethical recruitment strategies and initiatives within the Sabah landscape.
“In recognising the nuances that are unique to Sabah, this roundtable discussion helped us gather feedback on the feasibility of recommendations for implementation , and how those recommendations can be adapted, particularly for smaller and medium-sized palm oil growers, on applying international ethical recruitment principles in the context of periodic Sabah state Regularisation Programmes; the use of Community Referral Services- a process that relies on informal sources to help companies to seek workers and the extremely pivotal role played by Private Recruitment Agents”, said Lynda Lim, (Social & Human Rights Technical Lead of Earthworm Foundation) in Malaysia.
This work is part of Earthworm's landscape programme in Sabah, Malaysia, supported by Reckitt , Johnson & Johnson, ADM Cares (Archer Daniels Midland), Colgate Palmolive, Givaudan, Groupe Rocher, IOI Group, Nestlé and KLK - Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad.
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