Staff Reporter :
Manpower agency leaders demanded of the government to cancel the syndicate system in exporting manpower to Malaysia as well as keeping the labour market open for all the valid recruiting agents.
Overseas employment of Bangladeshi workers is a major source of employment and is likely to remain so in the near future, but high costs of migration brought on by high recruitment fees and charges by intermediaries make access to migration opportunities highly skewed in favour of the upper-income groups.
Recognizing these contributions to the economy, Bangladesh must examine the trends and their impact, and the related policy questions affecting overseas employment and workers’ remittances such as sustainability as an employment source for workers, women in particular; training and keeping a skilled demand in major destination countries with the skills of Bangladeshi workers; the associated high costs of labour migration for prospective workers; safeguarding the rights of workers; and strengthening the governance of migration, BAIRA leaders said.
SammilitoSomonnoy Front (SSF) of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) yesterday organized a discussion meeting at a city hotel with a view to cancelling the syndicate system in exporting manpower to Malaysia as well as keeping the labour market open for all the valid recruiting agents.
Dr Mohammed Faruque, President of SammilitoSomonnoy Front (SSF) presided over the meeting while Mostafa Mahmood, Secretary General of SSF was the moderator. Reaz-ul-Islam, Sr. Vice-President of SSF and a good number of speakers of SSF also delivered their speech in the program.
Addressing the introductory speech, Dr Mohammed Faruque appreciated the ruling government especially the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed for opening the labour market to Greece and Libya in favour of the migrant workers. He urged
the minister for keeping the labour market open for all the valid recruiting agents to ensure fair competition.
The main goal of the meeting was to regain the institutional right of the legal manpower recruiting agencies in exporting manpower at Malaysia through abolishing the syndicate system, he said adding that the syndicate system consisting only 10 members in exporting manpower to Malaysia which was formed in 2016.
While speaking the written speech, Dr Mohammed Faruque expressed his dissatisfaction and deep concern over the syndicate base manpower exportsystem to Malaysia. He disclosed various information on the 10 syndicate members those are destroying the manpower export market to Malaysia. He said that the syndicate members are responsible for conducting the money laundering incidents. In 2016, the syndicate members are involved in conducting capital flight worth over thousand crores. In the name of manpower export, the syndicate members are destroying the image of the country.
It was decided to export some 15 lac manpower in 2016, but only 2.75 lac workers enter the labour market mainly for the widespread corruption of the syndicate members, he claimed. The syndicate members are charging extra money from the job seekers.
It was supposed to pay Tk 37,000 for migration charge, but the syndicate members took almost Tk 4 lac from each migrant worker. On the other hand, the syndicate members conducted huge illegalmedical business to take the opportunity of the pandemic. It was supposed to examine the medical test of the highest 3 lakh migrant workers, but they took 15 lakh medical test. It is surprising that only 10 syndicate members conducted the whole business to deprive 1,100 to 1,200 legal recruiting agencies, he also claimed.
In the meeting, Dr Mohammed Faruque appreciated the government for signing the manpower agreement with Malaysia in the recent months.
He urged the government to change some specific clauses to protect the national interest and the migrant workers also. He demanded for changing a special clause in which the Malaysian government is the authorizer to select the local agencies in exporting manpower. He criticized on the Malaysian government authorization to select the local recruiting agencies, indicating the abusing of the sovereign power of Bangladesh. The syndicatemembers are conducting their unethical practices for keeping the said specific clause which is facilitating the vested group.
According to various media reports and Malaysian government document, some 25 recruiting agencies are allowed to conduct manpower export to Malaysia. He claimed that this time the syndicate members are going to loot over Tk 20,000 crore from the migrant workers. According to the media report of Malaysia, they need at least 10 lac migrant workers in the next two years.
The syndicate members have already set their target to export 10 lac migrant workers and their conducting their strong lobby to implement their unethical agenda. The legal agencies are defeating to the syndicate members due to the strong lobby in both countries, he mentioned.
He urged the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed to undertake a strong position against the syndicate. He also recommended for allowing at least 300 legal recruiting agencies to involve the manpower export instead of 25 agencies.
“We will send a proposal soon to the ministry to make a list of 275 to 300 numbers of recruiting agencies to conduct manpower export and the process is going on. The equal right is the common practice in free economy, so the government would take holistic approach for saving the legal agencies and the migrant workers also”
However, all the speakers demanded for abolishing the syndicate system to ensure fair and transparent manpower export. A good number of speakers urged the intervention of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina immediately to ban the unethical practices of the syndicate related to the manpower export.
