An evaluation of the nexus between labour migration, remittances and the wellbeing of migrants and their families in Timor-Leste : Some key findings from a pilot survey conducted in Timor-Leste 2019

Abstract

© 2020 Flinders University. All rights reserved.The findings presented here are from a pilot research conducted in Dili, Timor-Leste in the month of April/May 2019. This pilot research was funded by Flinders University. Ethics approval for the same was obtained from Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee of Flinders University. The questionnaire used for this pilot was developed in consultation with SEPFOPE (Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment Policies) and General Directorate of Statistics (Statistics-TL), Government of Timor-Leste, and the United Nations Development Programme, Timor-Leste. The data were collected by a team of field investigators from Statistics-TL. The research tool that we developed for the full-fledged project and its pilot study investigates the remittance workers’ experiences as a whole by using a multi-dimensional framework. This framework considers five dimensions of life satisfaction at a household level, namely standard of living, education, health (psychological/ emotional), community vitality and cultural vitality, and three specific dimensions of wellbeing and capability at an individual level, namely economic, knowledge/skills, and health. The pilot survey comprises a blend of objective and subjective questions. A total of 30 (18 males and 12 females) Timorese seasonal workers who worked in Australia during the period 2016-2018 under Australia’s Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) and since returned to Dili, Timor-Leste were surveyed. The findings presented here in Figures 1 through 13 are based on an analysis of individual level data