Daily Star 31 Jan 2023: Dhaka expecting open labour migration to Malaysia and end to alleged syndicated/ expensive recruitment channels

Dhaka expecting open labour migration

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/dhaka-expecting-open-labour-migration-3234966

Says expatriates’ minister ahead of Malaysia home minister’s visit

Porimol Palma

Tue Jan 31, 2023 12:00 AM Last update on: Tue Jan 31, 2023 12:52 AM

Dhaka is expecting Kuala Lumpur to adopt an open system that allows all licensed agencies to send workers to Malaysia free of cost or at minimum cost as Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail visits Bangladesh on February 4.

“We will want an arrangement so that our people can go to Malaysia for jobs fast and at low cost,” Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told The Daily Star.

The Malaysian minister will meet Imran Ahmad and is likely to call on the prime minister.

Bangladesh Association for International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) is also wishing to meet Minister Saifuddin during his one-day visit here.

He will be visiting Dhaka on the third leg after Indonesia and Nepal as Malaysia is aggressively seeking to recruit foreign labour to boost its economy.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed last year, Bangladesh sent around only 60,000 workers but that too at a very high cost, though job demand letters were issued for around 200,000 workers.

Industry insiders and migrant workers said the recruitment cost for each worker is now Tk 4,00,000 to Tk 4,50,000. Only 100 recruiting agencies are allowed by the Malaysian government to send workers.

Industry insiders and migrant workers said the recruitment cost for each worker is now Tk 4,00,000 to Tk 4,50,000. Only 100 recruiting agencies are allowed by the Malaysian government to send workers.

Earlier in 2018, the Mahathir Mohamad government froze the intake of recruitment from Bangladesh on allegations of forced labour, syndication and high recruitment cost.

It was Malaysia that selected the recruiting agencies earlier. During 2016 and 2018, only 10 agencies were allowed. It was first expanded to 25 agencies last year and then to 100.

Baira general secretary Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman said they have already written to the expatriates’ welfare ministry, calling to introduce an open recruitment system so that all licensed recruiting agencies — some 1200 in number — can send workers to Malaysia.

Responsible Business Association — a forum of big companies that send workers to western countries — is recruiting workers from Nepal and Malaysia free of cost, said Noman.

He also mentioned that Malaysia is recruiting female house helps and security guards free of cost but Bangladesh is not able to send them.

“We would like to take this opportunity. We don’t want to follow the previous IT system that monopolises the recruitment,” Noman said.

Baira executive committee member Ali Haider Chowdhury echoed the same.

“This new government of Malaysia is seeking a change and we also want it to happen,” he told this correspondent yesterday.

While in Dhaka, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin also may call on Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

“We want the labour recruitment cartel to be dismantled, the recruitment cost reduced and the rules of recruitment eased,” he told journalists at the foreign ministry yesterday.

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