Malaysia-Bangladesh inks new five-year labour recruitment MOU

 

Malaysia today formally signed a new five-year labour recruitment agreement with Bangladesh, lifting a freeze imposed since Sept 1, 2018, under the then Pakatan Harapan government.

The memorandum of understanding was signed between Human Resource Minister M Saravanan and Bangladesh's Expatriates' and Overseas Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed, witnessed by representatives from both ministries, during a closed-door function in Kuala Lumpur.

Saravanan later said the previous agreement in place had expired on Feb 17 last year, while the new terms will be enforced until December, 2026."The MOU, among others, outlines the responsibilities of both governments, Malaysian employers and Bangladeshi workers, as well as private agencies in both countries.

"Enforcement of the MOU will be monitored by a joint working group comprising both governments," Saravanan said in a statement.

He, however, did not disclose specific terms of the MOU, including recruitment costs and whether there has been a limit set on the number of Bangladesh recruitment agencies permitted to send their workers to Malaysia.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the final cost has yet to be finalised, in the past reaching up to RM20,000 per worker, allegedly due to overcharging by agents in Bangladesh.

Imran on Friday said his ministry intended to eliminate "syndicates" formed by a select list of agencies permitted to carry out the recruitment process, a practice which in the past was linked to increased costs and various irregularities.

He was responding to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) which requested the equal opportunity for all of its nearly 1,600 members to be allowed to send workers to Malaysia.

Other details said to be negotiated but were not disclosed, as stated in draft documents previously sighted by Malaysiakini, include permitted deductions from a worker's salary.

Meanwhile, the ministry said there are 326,69 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia as of Nov 30, with the majority employed in the manufacturing sector (111,694) and construction (136,897).

"Signing of this MOU is expected to meet urgent demands for migrant workers, including in the plantation sector with 32,000 approvals given through a special exemption.

"This is due to restrictions on the entry of Indonesian migrant workers until the signing of the MOU on Indonesian domestic helpers is completed," said Saravanan. - Mkini