Bangladesh to restructure migrant worker recruitment system

PETALING JAYA: Dhaka is set to introduce new legislation that will legalise sub-agents in the overseas employment recruitment sector by the end of 2024, a Bangladeshi MP said.

“Sub-agents, previously operating informally, will no longer evade legal scrutiny once the law is enacted.

“We aim to address the primary issues afflicting the foreign employment industry right now: job scams and high recruitment fees,” Tanvir Shakil Joy said to Malaysiakini, noting that more than 350,000 workers are registered in Malaysia and their income is a key source of revenue for Dhaka, reported to be roughly RM100 billion over the past two years.

However, he said the government is facing an uphill task, because of the sheer volume of “dalal” agents, amid reports of hundreds of workers stranded in Malaysia with no jobs.

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Tanvir, the chairman of the Bangladesh parliamentary caucus on migration and development, said one of the key problems is that the sub-agents are intertwined with local communities, and trusting workers sign up simply because they do not believe their supposed friend will dupe them into paying exorbitant fees.

“Sub-agents will be required to align with any of the 700 legal recruitment agencies, limit their operations to one area, and register for an identification card that will enable oversight,” he said.

He said it is hoped that making the agencies responsible for their sub-agents – including stiff fines and possible jail time – should produce better results than previous punitive measures, which included penalties and community warnings.

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