The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has mandated that recruiting agencies must refund money to workers who could not travel to Malaysia within the specified timeframe. The refunds are to be issued within the next 15 days, with a deadline set for July 18.
This announcement was made by the State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury, during a discussion meeting held at the ministry's conference room on Thursday.
"On Wednesday, we had a meeting with the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA). They agreed with us that workers who could not go to Malaysia will have their money refunded. BAIRA requested 15 days to process these refunds.
“We have stipulated that the money must be returned by July 18. If the refunds are not issued within this period, action will be taken against those responsible,” the state minister said.
He emphasised the ministry's commitment to ensuring the workers receive their refunds. “Let's see how many refunds are processed in these 15 days. If the refunds are not completed, we will take necessary actions. Our primary goal is to ensure that those who couldn't travel receive their money back,” he added.
During an investigation conducted by the probe body, it was found that 100 recruiting agencies are involved in sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia, he said.
A total of 2,025 people lodged complaints while 17,777 workers failed to go to Malaysia while 4.76 lakh out of 5,32,162 went to Malaysia.
