Staff Reporter :
The long awaited Malaysian labour market is opening soon, which will be final after the joint working group’s meeting to be held on June 2 in Dhaka, sources said.
From the joint working group meeting with higher officials from Dhaka and Kua Lumpur, the final procedures of opening the Malaysian market will be decided, sources said.
Malaysian human resources Ministers M.Saravanan and Imran Ahmed, the Expatriates’ Welfare minister of Bangladesh also attend the meeting.
Bangladesh and Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding on December 19 last year for recruiting Bangladeshi manpower for the South Asian Country.
Malaysia has stopped recruiting in 2018. The then government alleged that recruiting agencies were collecting abnormally extra migration fees from the workers as a syndicate were behind.
It said because of extra ordinary migration costs, the workers tried to earn more money in illegal ways in that country.
Stakeholders from manpower exporters and the workers blamed the syndicate behind stopping of the vast labour market.
They said the 10 members syndicate used to collect Tk three lakh to six lakh from the workers instead of the fixed Tk 1,60,000.In consequence, the labour market shut its door in September, 2018.
Since then, Bangladesh government has been trying to open the third largest labour market for its manpower several times.
After a long efforts, though both countries inked the MoU on last December, the process of sending manpower is yet to be decided.
Bangladeshi manpower exporters asked the government repeatedly to make the market open for all licenses so that every one of them can do business.
Most of the members of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) stressed for keeping the recruiting process open for all.
Sources said, a group of businessmen has been trying to form a syndicate again. A Bangladeshi origin Malaysian citizen Datuk Amin Bin Abdun Nur is playing vital role behind forming the syndicate.
Sources said that Datuk Nur convinced the Malaysian government tif recruiting process for the labour market is kept open for all manpower exporting agencies, they would dump the country sending huge number of manpower.
Malaysian ministry of human resources sent letters to Bangladeshi ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment manpower with signs to form syndicate.
But Imran Ahmed, the Expatriates’ Welfare minister of Bangladesh refused the proposal replying to those letters in January18 and April 21.
The Minister strongly said that he must protect the workers interest ensuring their low cost migration.
Meanwhile, Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, said in different meetings with BAIRA members that Bangladesh is not responsible for dumping huge number of manpower to Malaysia.
He said, “What is the procedure? Firstly they (Malaysian employers) used to send visa, then our offices issued papers after scrutinizing the visa approvals. So, we are not responsible for dumping workers.”
He also said that most of the speakers of BAIRA members were against forming any syndicate.
When contacted, Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former General Secretary of BAIRA told The New Nation on Friday, “Our minister Imran Ahmed strongly opposed the syndication. If any syndicate formed, the migration costs will be skyrocketed no doubt.”
Syndicate might not keep workers interests uphold, he added.
