Labour agencies urge govt to open domestic sector for Bangladeshi workers

As Malaysian employers continue to wait on the arrival of migrant workers from 14 source countries, the National Association of Malaysian Employment Agencies (Papsma) has urged the government to also open up the domestic sector to Bangladeshi workers.

Papsma secretary-general N Sukumaran said their proposal was made by taking into account the labour memorandum of agreement between Malaysia and Bangladesh that could be extended to include domestic workers.

"We are requesting the government to officially invite Bangladesh to be a part of this domestic work sector because they already have an MOU with Bangladesh.

"Why is Bangladesh not allowed to be a supplier for domestic workers when they have agreed to do it?" Sukumaran told Malaysiakini.

Papsma deputy president Kris Foo said the process could also be expedited to meet urgent demands, pending the signing of Malaysia's MOU with Indonesia, specifically on recruitment of domestic workers.

"While waiting for Indonesia to finalise the MOU, we are seriously urging the government to open up for Bangladeshi workers in the general sector and domestic workers.

"Bangladesh has a very good training centre and they are sending domestic workers to the Middle East, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan," said Foo when met in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The MOU signing with Indonesia to reopen recruitment in all sectors has been postponed for the second consecutive time, with a new signing date expected in early April.

The Malaysian government currently allows the recruitment of domestic workers from nine source countries, with a majority of arrivals coming from Indonesia and the Philippines.

Workers from Bangladesh, however, are mostly hired in the plantation, manufacturing and construction sectors which have been severely affected by operational shutdowns in two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

So far, there have been no new arrivals of migrant workers even as Malaysia prepares to lift foreign entry restrictions by April 1.

'No news on approvals'

Foreign Domestic Helpers Agencies Association (Papa) president Foo Yong Hui said delays in the new entries have extended beyond a reasonable time frame, particularly for workers from Bangladesh after nearly four months since the MOU was signed.

"Actually, we also don't know what's the progress. There have been long delays beyond the reasonable timeframe.

"Arrivals of workers for the plantation sector has been said since last December but until today we have yet to see any approvals issued to the respective plantation companies," Yong Hui told Malaysiakini.

"The pace of approvals doesn't match the requirements from employers," he added.

Bangladesh Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed told Malaysiakini yesterday that bilateral discussions after the MOU signing have been at a standstill since January.

He also said Bangladesh had requested to hold a bilateral Joint Working Group meeting but has yet to receive a response from Putrajaya. - Mkini