Indonesia, 07/20/2022, IOM in collaboration with the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI), piloted a training of trainers (TOT) on Pre-Departure Orientation for Instructors in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia from  July 19 – 20, 2022. The TOT was conducted after IOM and BP2MI co-organized series of consultation meeting to update the PDO training curriculum. The refinement of PDO training curriculum is sought due to recent migration challenges faced by migrant workers, such as COVID-19, recent MoU agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia, the implementation of Law 18/2017 on Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection, and the others challenges and information that need to be introduced to the migrant workers prior to their departure.  

Various studies showed that exploitations of workers oftentimes begin from the moment they seek job at the village level, due to lack of information on migration procedures and limited access to services and protection. Therefore, IOM believe that increasing the awareness of jobseekers or prospective migrant workers on their rights and access to remedy will reduce their vulnerabilities. In effort to increase workers’ access to ethical recruitment channels and migration support services during the recruitment process, IOM conducted the Training of Trainers on Pre-Departure Orientation Training in West Nusa Tenggara that recorded to be one of the highest area sending migrant workers to Malaysia. A total of nineteen instructors from the West Nusa Tenggara provincial office of BP2MI and the Office of Manpower participated in the TOT. 

In line with the prevailing regulation in Malaysia and Indonesia on the placement mechanism and the recent  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and Malaysia for the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the domestic sector, the TOT focuses on delivering specific material such as the placement and employment agreement for Indonesian migrant workers, prevailing laws and regulations in Malaysia and Indonesia, and culture and customs in Malaysia. To increase the  instructors knowledge on facilitation technique and information, communication, and technology when delivering the PDO training to migrant workers, IOM provide the specific session on utilizing supporting tools, such as using games, video, quiz and ice breaking. 

Raden Joned, the ad interim head of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Services and Protection Office (BP3MI) of Mataram, remarked his enthusiasm for implementing the TOT on PDO in his area of operation. In his statements, he mentioned his eagerness to actively participate in the training after the placement moratorium has been in effect for the past couple of years. Moreover, there are policy changes for the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in the Indonesia-Malaysia corridor that the instructors must be aware of, as well as migrant workers, especially from West Nusa Tenggara.

"We thank our colleagues in BP2MI and IOM Indonesia for selecting Mataram as the pilot area for delivering the TOT on PDO. The majority of migrant workers from West Nusa Tenggara prefer Malaysia as their main destination country; therefore, the PDO contents are important for us (instructors. Ed) in raising awareness for the protection of Indonesian migrant workers," Raden emphasized in his welcoming remarks. 

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Promoting Safe Labor Migration in the Indonesia-Malaysia and Nepal-Malaysia Corridor through Transforming Recruitment Practices and Standards in the Supply Chain is a two-year project supported by the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Foundation through a grant from the Walmart Foundation, which began on August 2020 and will end in December 2022. This project aims to support businesses to respect and promote the human and labour rights of migrant workers in the Indonesia-Malaysia and Nepal-Malaysia corridors in key industry and supply chains, including the provision of remedy. 

For more information about the project, please contact Eny Rofiatul, IOM´s National Project Officer at nenyrofiatul@iom.int 

For media queries, please contact Ariani Hasanah Soejoeti, IOM's National Media and Communications Officer in Indonesia at asoejoeti@iom.int/08122726308.