Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 30 January 2026 - Earthworm Foundation and the Sabah Jurisdictional Approach for Sustainable Palm Oil (JASPO) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on strengthening ethical recruitment practices across Sabah’s palm oil sector, with a particular focus on supporting smallholders and medium-sized palm oil producers. The collaboration aims to enhance labour recruitment processes in line with international labour standards and evolving industry expectations. The initiative supports the Sabah State Government’s broader mission to promote sustainable, inclusive, and responsible palm oil development.
Sabah remains highly dependent on migrant workers, particularly in labour-intensive sectors such as plantations, construction, and domestic work. While recent government initiatives to improve migrant worker registration and management have delivered positive progress, structural challenges and implementation gaps persist across recruitment and employment practices.
Earthworm Foundation brings experience from its ongoing work on ethical recruitment in Malaysia since 2019. In Sabah, this has included a research study on migrant worker recruitment and employment conducted in 2023, followed by a series of multi-stakeholder engagement sessions involving palm oil producers, government agencies, and international organisations. These efforts have helped identify practical challenges faced by employers, particularly smallholders and medium sized producers, in aligning recruitment practices with ethical and regulatory expectations.
Under the collaboration, Earthworm Foundation and Sabah JASPO will work together to develop practical recruitment guidelines tailored to Sabah’s local context. These guidelines will be aligned with international conventions and labour standards, with a focus on supporting effective and practical adoption by companies operating on the ground.
The event was also attended by the Sabah Jurisdictional Certification Steering Committee (JCSC) Labour Working Group members and representative from the Sabah State Internal Affairs and Research Office and Immigration Department of Malaysia - Sabah State.
Media Contact:
Zulmazliza Zulkifli, Senior Manager, Sabah JASPO Secretariat at liza.zulkifli@sabahjaspo.com or +60123869337
Sheila Kartika, Regional Communications Manager, Earthworm Foundation at s.putri@earthworm.org or +62856-887-1996
About Sabah JASPO
Sabah Jurisdictional Approach for Sustainable Palm Oil (JASPO) Initiative is a Sabah Government commitment with the vision of achieving 100% compliance of sustainability standards for oil palm across the entire state of Sabah to transform Sabah's palm oil production and supply chain, halt deforestation, restore ecosystems and secure livelihoods. For more information, kindly visit www.sabahjaspo.com.
About Earthworm Foundation
Earthworm Foundation is an impact-driven non-profit that works with businesses, civil society, communities, governments and others to tackle environmental and social issues in sourcing landscapes and supply chains. Our team of supply chain, social, and environmental experts operates across five continents, striving to enhance conditions for individuals, forests, and soils affected by the production of cocoa, packaging, palm oil, rubber, and other commodities. With a network of over 100 members and partners, our foundation is dedicated to implementing responsible sourcing commitments in supply chains and innovating practical solutions to address social and environmental challenges across diverse sourcing landscapes. Find out more at www.earthworm.org.
