The government of Bangladesh has remained firm on its stand to reject Malaysia's request that only 25 Bangladesh Recruitment Agencies (BRAs) and 250 sub-agents be allowed to send their workers here.
Putrajaya's request and Dhaka's response was recorded in a recent correspondence between Human Resources Minister M Saravanan and Bangladesh's Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad.
The letters sighted by Malaysiakini come after the two ministers signed a five-year Malaysia-Bangladesh labour recruitment agreement on Dec 19 last year, lifting a freeze imposed since Sept 1, 2018, under the then Pakatan Harapan government.
"It is now important for both sides to ensure swift and smooth implementation on the recruitment of Bangladesh workers into Malaysia," Saravanan said in his letter to Imran dated Jan 14.
He cited prior discussions with Imran dating back to February last year when Imran had supposedly agreed that only 25 main BRAs and 250 sub-agents will be allowed to send Bangladeshi citizens to work in Malaysia.
"Additionally, Malaysian recruitment agencies will also be involved in the employment process of Bangladesh workers, in which their responsibilities are clearly spelt out in the existing MOU," Saravanan said.
However, Imran, in his letter of response to Saravanan, dated Jan 18, urged Malaysia to keep the BRAs selection process transparent and fair, rejecting any form of monopoly or syndication.
"I fully appreciate Your Excellency's desire to ensure swift implementation of the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
"In this regard, I want to reiterate that Bangladesh is always in favour of transparent, fair and safe migration...," said Imran, who before this had stated that his ministry intended to eliminate syndicates previously linked to increased costs and various irregularities.
Imran at that time said so in response to concerns raised by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), which requested an equal opportunity for all of its nearly 1,600 members to be allowed to send workers to Malaysia.
Imran said Bangladesh's stand - as stated in an appendix to the MOU - is in line with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) charters and Bangladesh's Competition Act 2012 on keeping the opportunities open to all valid, licensed BRAs.
"According to this provision (in the MOU), the government of Malaysia shall select BRA automatically through the online system from the list provided by the government of Bangladesh, and the government of Malaysia shall ensure transparency and fairness in the selection and distribution of quota.
"Bangladesh's side reiterates its stance of following this provision," said Imran, echoing the sentiments of the Bangladeshi stakeholders.
News report: Syndicates allegedly involved
Bangladesh's The Business Post yesterday quoted industry players who alluded to alleged syndicates involved since prior to 2018 when only 10 BRAs were allowed to send workers to Malaysia in a deal signed under the then Barisan Nasional administration.
Among others, they raised concerns that the return of a new syndicate could once again increase recruitment costs - a situation linked to forced labour claims which saw Malaysia downgraded to Tier 3 - the lowest ranking in the US State Department's annual report on human trafficking.
The objections were also recorded in a letter dated Jan 12 from Baira to Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed, which was sighted by Malaysiakini.
Malaysia's proposal to only involve the 25 selected BRAs and their sub-agents was recorded in an internal document that outlined the proposed process and procedure on the recruitment and repatriation of Bangladesh workers.
According to the document, various stages of the recruitment process, starting from the application by employers to procedures upon arrival, will be done through the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) operated by Bestinet Sdn Bhd.
Previously, migrant workers rights specialist Andy Hall had questioned purported payments made by BRAs to be included on the selection list and alleged kickbacks for high-ranking government officials.
Amid pressure from migrant rights activists questioning Putrajaya's secrecy and demanding answers to allegations surrounding syndication of the recruitment process, Saravanan had declined to reveal contents of the new MOU, stating it was not common practice to do so.
It is understood that bilateral negotiations between Malaysia and Bangladesh had continued after the MOU was signed as details including on the syndication issue were yet to be concluded.
"In this regard, my team is always ready to work closely with your team for the finalisation of the recruitment flow process to start the recruitment as early as possible.
"To finalise the process, integrate our systems and implement the recruitment process, I suggest an early meeting of the Joint Working Group," Imran said in his letter to Saravanan.
On Saturday, Saravanan announced that online applications for the recruitment of foreign workers in the plantation sector, through special exemption, will be opened from Jan 28, through the FWCMS website.
Meanwhile, applications for foreign workers for other sectors, including the plantation sector without special exemption, would be opened from Feb 15. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.