Mohammed Badrul Ahsan :
The Malaysia bound Bangladeshi Job-seekers are hardly benefiting from the G2G agreement as recruiters do not obey the government’s instruction, sources said.
According to them, recruiting agency-owners are charging around Tk 300,000 to Tk 400,000 each for getting job in Malaysia although the G-to-G plus arrangement last year set Tk 37,000 including air fare (one way) for a worker to Malaysia.
“A section of dishonest manpower recruiters is allegedly charging much higher migration cost, defying the government-fixed rate,” said a high official of the concern ministry preferring not to be named.
“They are in some extent more powerful than the top of the government. Otherwise they would not run their business defying such government level agrement,” he added.
However, under the G2G plus process, the Malaysian authority recently sent a demand letter of 5,240 plantation and construction workers to the MEWOE. And workers’ recruitment process has already started. The monthly wage has been fixed at Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1,000 or around Tk 18,000 for each, officials said.
Meanwhile, migrants’ rights activists urged the government for immediate action to check such a malpractice as it will bring a negative impact on the job market.
Talking to The New Nation (NN), a number of job-seekers said they have given more than Tk 300,000 to middlemen to secure jobs in Malaysia. Some of them said they have decided to go to Malaysia. Village middlemen asked them for the same amount of money.
Mohosin Howlader, hailing from Barisal, said he gave Tk 350,000 to a neighbour to go to Malaysia with a construction job. Like him, one of his friends also gave the same amount of money to a middleman. But he didn’t disclose the name of the manpower agent.
“I have no way as I do not know any recruiting agency which charges less than the amount to get a job in Malaysia,” he said.
Rezaul Karim, another job-seeker, also said a manpower agent asked for Tk 400,000 to send him to Malaysia. The agent already has already taken Tk 100,000 for completing primary procedure.
When contacted, AKM Tipu Sultan, director (emigration and protocol) at Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) said they are yet to get such complaints from any worker. They will take necessary action if they are informed about the unethical practice, he assured.
He also said the process for sending workers to Malaysia has already started. Some 10 recruiting agencies have been selected by the Malaysian authority for sending workers there. The whole recruitment process will be completed online. Synerflex, a Malaysian-based firm, has been appointed for technical support.
But another official, wishing anonymity, told The NN that it is almost impossible to go to Malaysia with government-fixed rate as the recruiters are active to fleece job-seekers.
Besides, there is no strong mechanism to stop such malpractice in the ministry.
Every worker is being forced to spend minimum Tk 200,000 to secure a job in Malaysia under the present arrangement, he observed. He said it is absolutely a monopoly business as only 10 recruiters got the permission.
Benjir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) said they also did not get any complaint from the workers.
And there is no reason to charge money from workers before finalising their recruitment procedure, he said.
Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of WARBE Development Foundation, said the government should take action against the dishonest manpower exporters as early as possible.
The Malaysia bound Bangladeshi Job-seekers are hardly benefiting from the G2G agreement as recruiters do not obey the government’s instruction, sources said.
According to them, recruiting agency-owners are charging around Tk 300,000 to Tk 400,000 each for getting job in Malaysia although the G-to-G plus arrangement last year set Tk 37,000 including air fare (one way) for a worker to Malaysia.
“A section of dishonest manpower recruiters is allegedly charging much higher migration cost, defying the government-fixed rate,” said a high official of the concern ministry preferring not to be named.
“They are in some extent more powerful than the top of the government. Otherwise they would not run their business defying such government level agrement,” he added.
However, under the G2G plus process, the Malaysian authority recently sent a demand letter of 5,240 plantation and construction workers to the MEWOE. And workers’ recruitment process has already started. The monthly wage has been fixed at Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 1,000 or around Tk 18,000 for each, officials said.
Meanwhile, migrants’ rights activists urged the government for immediate action to check such a malpractice as it will bring a negative impact on the job market.
Talking to The New Nation (NN), a number of job-seekers said they have given more than Tk 300,000 to middlemen to secure jobs in Malaysia. Some of them said they have decided to go to Malaysia. Village middlemen asked them for the same amount of money.
Mohosin Howlader, hailing from Barisal, said he gave Tk 350,000 to a neighbour to go to Malaysia with a construction job. Like him, one of his friends also gave the same amount of money to a middleman. But he didn’t disclose the name of the manpower agent.
“I have no way as I do not know any recruiting agency which charges less than the amount to get a job in Malaysia,” he said.
Rezaul Karim, another job-seeker, also said a manpower agent asked for Tk 400,000 to send him to Malaysia. The agent already has already taken Tk 100,000 for completing primary procedure.
When contacted, AKM Tipu Sultan, director (emigration and protocol) at Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) said they are yet to get such complaints from any worker. They will take necessary action if they are informed about the unethical practice, he assured.
He also said the process for sending workers to Malaysia has already started. Some 10 recruiting agencies have been selected by the Malaysian authority for sending workers there. The whole recruitment process will be completed online. Synerflex, a Malaysian-based firm, has been appointed for technical support.
But another official, wishing anonymity, told The NN that it is almost impossible to go to Malaysia with government-fixed rate as the recruiters are active to fleece job-seekers.
Besides, there is no strong mechanism to stop such malpractice in the ministry.
Every worker is being forced to spend minimum Tk 200,000 to secure a job in Malaysia under the present arrangement, he observed. He said it is absolutely a monopoly business as only 10 recruiters got the permission.
Benjir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) said they also did not get any complaint from the workers.
And there is no reason to charge money from workers before finalising their recruitment procedure, he said.
Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of WARBE Development Foundation, said the government should take action against the dishonest manpower exporters as early as possible.
