Staff reporter:
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury yesterday expressed hope that the first few flights carrying Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia free of cost are expected to begin operating in December.
“December is the month of victory. We want to launch this initiative with the first two or three flights carrying workers free of cost in December. At the same time, the process of sending workers will continue based on other demand letters,” he said.
The minister expressed the hope at an exchange of views meeting with representatives of recruiting agencies enlisted with the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System(FWCMS) for sending workers to Malaysia.
The meeting was held at the Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in Eskaton in the capital.
Under the new system, workers will be sent abroad without having to pay any money. The foreign employers or their recruiting agencies will bear the expenses of sending the workers. Some service charges for recruiting agencies in Bangladesh have also been waived to simplify the recruitment process, the minister said.
Ariful Haque Chowdhury said he did not want the business of sending workers to Malaysia to remain confined to a handful of recruiting agencies. The ministry is working to ensure that all licensed recruiting agencies in the country get opportunities to participate in the process, he said.
He expressed hope that a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed by December 31.
He said demand letters from foreign employers would have to be submitted online to ensure transparency in the recruitment process.
These would also require attestation from the human resources ministry of the respective country, he said, adding that the concerned recruiting agency would have to submit an undertaking to the ministry guaranteeing that workers would be provided with jobs by the employers.
The minister also said the government planned to establish separate cells in destination countries to help resolve workers’ problems after their deployment abroad. Initiatives are being taken to ensure that Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other countries receive necessary services and do not face harassment, he added.
Regarding medical examination fees, he said the fee for workers going to Malaysia had been fixed at Tk 8,000 and no additional amount could be charged.
Addressing recruiting agency owners, the minister said the sector must be brought to a dignified and respectable position. Everyone must remain vigilant so that irregularities by a few individuals do not bring the entire sector into disrepute, he added.
He urged them to consider not only business interests but also employment opportunities for the country’s people and the growth of remittances.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment State Minister Md. Nurul Hoque and Gazipur-5 constituency lawmaker AKM Fazlul Haque Milon, among others, attended the meeting.
