Recent talks organised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia have put forward eight key recommendations to the Bangladesh government to address serious weaknesses in the labour migration system between the two countries.
The talks, held in Dhaka on May 7, were attended by various stakeholders - including private recruitment agencies, civil society organisations, trade unions, and migrant workers.
It was revealed that the existing system was found to be fragile and that Bangladeshi workers were often exploited, despite the system benefiting many.
A representative of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (Baira) shared the proposal document with Malaysiakini.
Based on the document sighted by Malaysiakini, among the key recommendations put forward was the renegotiation of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malaysia to ensure a more transparent recruitment process and end the practice of limiting agency selection.
“The practice of limited selection of recruitment agencies has increased costs and created unhealthy competition.
“If possible, blacklist recruitment agencies proven to be involved in syndicates,” said the proposal, which also suggested that medical screenings be limited to approved government hospitals.
Improving digital systems
It also proposed improving digital systems and medical control, including assessing the possibility of establishing an e-wallet system to track migrant worker payments and complementing Bangladesh's Overseas Employment Platform (OEP) system.
On Dec 19, 2021, Malaysia signed an MOU with Bangladesh on the recruitment of migrant workers.
The MOU was aimed at reopening the Malaysian migrant labour market, which had been suspended since 2018, in addition to establishing a mechanism to send Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia in an orderly and legal manner.
However, the MOU drew criticism from recruitment agencies and stakeholders in Bangladesh for two main reasons: firstly, that only 25 to 100 licensed agencies out of more than 1,500 registered agencies were allowed to send workers to Malaysia.
Secondly, although the Bangladeshi government sets a maximum cost of around BDT79,000 (RM2,550), there are allegations that workers have to pay between BDT350,000 (RM11,300) and BDT500,000 (RM16,130) to recruitment agencies.
‘Return to negotiating table’
Meanwhile, an agency owner from Bangladesh, Altab Khan, said the two countries need to return to the negotiating table to resolve the issue of hiring migrant workers, which allegedly involves corruption and misuse of billions of ringgit.
“What we found from the negotiations is that the provisions in the MOU with Malaysia are not equivalent to the agreements signed with other labour-sending countries.
“Bangladesh is subject to different provisions compared to other countries. The proposed criteria for selecting agencies are not accepted by other countries and fail to promote fair recruitment.
“The Bangladesh government is urged to renegotiate with Malaysia to ensure parity in the bilateral agreement,” he said, confirming that he was also present at the negotiations.
Altab was the main complainant who filed a police report on Sept 3, 2024, at the Paltan police station against 103 individuals who were accused of embezzling RM8.36 billion through an organised syndicate.
Among the big names mentioned in the report are former expatriates' welfare and overseas employment minister, Imran Ahmed; former senior secretary Ahmed Munirus Saleheen; former MP Nizam Uddin Hazari; as well as politician and retired army lieutenant-general Masud Uddin Chowdhury.
At least 100 Bangladeshi foreign recruitment agency owners were also named in the report.
The Bangladesh government is still in the midst of conducting a massive investigation, leading to the arrests of Imran and Masud.
Previously, the Malaysian government, through the Human Resources Ministry, had reportedly sent a letter to Bangladesh urging it to stop the investigation, claiming it was unfounded.
The letter, dated April 23, 2025, was sent by a senior Human Resources Ministry official to a senior official at Bangladesh's Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry.
To date, the Human Resources Ministry has not responded to Malaysiakini's request for comment regarding the letter.
Meanwhile, ILO senior programme officer Asif Ahmed Tonmoy, in a statement shared on social media, said the talks successfully brought together various parties to discuss key challenges and potential directions for creating a better governance system of labour migration.
He said his party hopes the detailed proposal will continue to contribute to follow-up discussions and collaborative efforts to strengthen fair recruitment, safe migration, and governance of labour migration between Bangladesh and Malaysia. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.