Home ›› 04 Oct 2021 ›› News
A group of overseas manpower recruiting agents held a human chain in front of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, protesting arrests of agency owners in cases filed under the human trafficking act.
During the demonstration, protesters urged authorities concerned to take legal action against recruiting agency owners – who engaged in irregularities – under the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act instead.
M Tipu Sultan, a member of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), said, “Recruiting agencies send workers abroad through a legal procedure, and several government agencies are involved in the process.
“The recruiters follow government regulations for sending workers abroad, but the human traffickers do not. So, manpower export and human trafficking are two entirely different matters. When a worker faces trouble even after having a Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) smart card, the agency should not bear sole responsibility for it.”
Tipu, also a former president of the Female Workers’ Recruiting Agencies Association of Bangladesh, added, “If any worker gets cheated, their recruiting agency should be punished under the migration act.
“Trafficking is committed by ringleaders who do not follow any government regulations at all.”
The protesters also alleged that the enforcers are harassing recruiters by filing non-bailable cases under the human trafficking act against them.
A recruiter named Akter Hossain said, “When putting agency owners in trial, the government should take legal action under the migration act, not the human trafficking act. The latter is also a non-bailable offence.
He demanded release of all the recruiters who were arrested under this act.
The same day, protesters handed over a memorandum to the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment minister, secretary and Bureau of Manpower, and Employment and Training (BMET) director general, urging them to take steps for curbing harassment against the recruiters.
