Describing the attempt to form a 25-member syndicate to send workers to Malaysia as vicious, manpower recruiting agencies have said they do not want to see any syndicate like in the past.
They said a 10-member syndicate earlier engaged in corrupt acts to control manpower exports to Malaysia.
At a press conference on Monday, they also warned to move the High Court and organise street protests if the government allowed the 25-member syndicate, proposed by the Malaysian authorities, to send workers to the Southeast Asian country.
The press briefing was organised under the banner of “Ordinary Recruiting Agency Owners” at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital’s Segunbagicha.
On January 14, Malaysian Human Resource Minister M Saravanan in a letter urged Bangladesh’s Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad to initiate sending workers to Malaysia through a group of 25 recruitment agencies.
The manpower exporters told Monday’s briefing that forming a syndicate this way was against the sovereignty and labour laws of Bangladesh.
They said there was also a high risk that a large amount of money would be laundered by exporting manpower this way.
Ordinary Recruiting Agency Owners President M Tipu Sultan and its Secretary General Arifur Rahman were present at the programme among others.
Tipu said a memorandum of understanding was signed between Bangladesh and Malaysia on December 19 last year to re-open the Southeast Asian country’s labour market after a suspension of three years.
“After that, the Malaysian human resource minister urged the Bangladesh authorities to initiate sending workers to his country through the 25-member syndicate. This will be extremely immoral and degrading for Bangladesh,” he said.
“In our neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India, all recruiting agencies can send workers to Malaysia,” he added.
Sammilito Samannay Front (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies) Secretary Mostafa Al Mahmud said Bangladeshi migrants would face torture and harassment in Malaysia if they went there via the syndicate.
“We are worried about the syndicate. The prime minister and the expatriates' welfare minister want all recruitment agencies to be able to send workers to Malaysia. Now the government should take initiatives to negotiate with Malaysia to prevent the syndicate’s formation.”
Mostafa did not disclose the names of the syndicate members. But he said some of the members of the previous syndicate failed to send even a single worker to Malaysia. “Some of the members of that syndicate are also in the new one.”
“The High Court previously issued a directive about the Malaysian labour market. If Bangladesh falls into the new syndicate trap, we will move the High Court,” he said.
He further said a lot of money would flow out of the country if the new syndicate exports manpower at a high cost.
Manpower exporters at the briefing also urged the government to take strong measures to reduce airfares to the manpower-exporting destinations. The airfares were recently increased.
