Syndicate in manpower export to Malaysia

Editor’s note: This op-ed first appeared in Bangladesh’s Daily Observer.

ON Dec 19, 2021 the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signifying the reopening of the Malaysian labour market for Bangladeshi workers till 2026.

Malaysia with signing a memorandum of understanding lifted the ban on recruiting Bangladeshi workers, which it imposed in 2018 over some irregularities in the recruitment process by a specially selected 10 Bangladeshi manpower recruitment agencies.

This time, workers to Malaysia will be recruited from a list of 25 recruitment agencies, supported by 250 sub-agents provided by the Bangladesh government.

On the other hand, all registered Malaysian manpower recruitment agencies are allowed to work under this agreement.

In another agreement with Malaysian government in 2018, Bangladesh allowed only 10 manpower recruiting agencies and finally Malaysian government withdraw from the agreement due to curtail and corruptions in recruitment of workers.

The media in Malaysia and Bangladesh as well as Bangladeshi business leaders smelled something fishy in the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh.

Before a suspension stopped Bangladeshi workers from immigrating to Malaysia in 2018, the main method of labour export between these two countries was the Government to Government (G2G) method.

With the advent of this novel system, many hoped that worker exploitation, human trafficking and charging exorbitant fees by recruitment agencies would stop.

But the outcome was far from the expectation. The Malaysia bound job-seekers were hardly benefited from the G2G agreement as recruiters do not obey the government’s instruction.

The selected fortunate 10 recruiting agencies are charging around Bangladeshi taka (Tk) 300,000 to Tk 400,000 each for getting job in Malaysia although the G2G plus arrangement set Tk 37,000 including air fare (one way) for a worker to Malaysia.

At one stage, the Malaysian Government had stopped the G2G plus process and initiated an investigation of corruption into it.

Unfortunately, the Bangladesh government has made no initiative to resolve the crisis. Any corruption investigation by Bangladesh government is a remote possibility.

This time similar collusion and curtail among 25 manpower companies are suspected.

An article that appeared in Malaysian news portal Malaysiakini on January 10, 2022 expressed concerns that there are syndicates that are sending workers to Malaysia although the Bangladesh expat ministry has objected to this.

The news portal obtained a document that outlined the proposed process and procedure on the recruitment and repatriation of Bangladesh workers.

This entry will be open to all sectors allowed for the employment of foreign workers namely agriculture, manufacturing, services, mining and quarrying, construction and domestic servants.

The employers who want to recruit foreign workers will have to provide housing or accommodation facilities as stipulated under the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act in 1966.

Pic credit: AFP

The document of the recent agreement reportedly shows the recruitment process – starting from the application to workers’ arrival – will be done through the software namely Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) of Malaysia.

In Malaysia, migrant rights group Tenaganita were among those who urged to disclose the MoU terms, raising concerns over the possible revival of alleged “syndicate” which had attributed high recruitment costs and labour abuses.

Over the limit set on the recruitment agencies, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) raised concerns and requested an equal opportunity for all of its 1,600 members to send workers to Malaysia.

Some newspapers reported that the Bangladesh government will determine the service charge for recruiters sending workers to Malaysia with an eye on ensuring a rational migration cost.

The charge will not be more than three months’ pay of a worker, and according to a press briefing of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry the minimum wage in Malaysia is Tk 25,000.

On the other hand, manpower recruiters cannot send any worker outside of the government’s overseas jobseekers’ database.

So, they cannot charge any extras and all expenses from Malaysia’s part would be borne by employers including airfare for first-time flying of a worker, fees for visa and immigration, medical check-up, COVID-19 test, quarantine and accommodation.

In line with the decision of the Malaysian Cabinet meeting on Dec 10, 2021 to allow foreign workers to be recruited for all sectors, it was said that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) on the entry of foreign workers have been fine-tuned and improved.

The SOPs cover four phases, namely pre-release, upon arrival, after arrival (quarantine), and post-quarantine.

The standing committee on Manpower and Skill Development of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said that businessmen are concerned over the manpower export syndicate.

At the meeting, some members of the standing committee also expressed their concerns about the syndicate in the manpower sector.

Citing the examples of Nepal, India, Pakistan they said that each country is exporting manpower to Malaysia through more than one and a half thousand recruiting agents and therefore, there is no reason to limit the number of agents in Bangladesh.

Malaysia-based migrant workers’ rights specialist Andy Hall told a Bangladesh newspaper that there were issues on how the recruiting agencies were selected as there was alleged abuse of political powers in Bangladesh and Malaysia at the expense of migrant workers.

“If the recruitment agencies were chosen through a transparent open tender process, based-on their proven track record, it would be acceptable,” said Hall.

He said without more transparency, the new recruitment process risks being a revival of previous syndicates that ultimately contributed to issues of labour exploitation.

Manpower exporters in Bangladesh also called for government policy support against a ‘syndicate’ that wants to control the sector.

They alleged that the so-called syndicate is behind the rise in plane ticket prices – from an average of Tk50,000 to more than Tk1,00,000 – from Bangladesh to the Middle East.

According to the Bangladeshi manpower exporters, the alleged group now wants to control the process of sending workers to Malaysia as that country recently agreed to reopen their doors once again for Bangladeshi workers after a three-year halt.

However, the Malaysian government may stop recruitment again if there is any corruption to be found in the recruitment process.

In this regard the Malaysian government decided that the entry of foreign workers, including Bangladeshis, will be closely monitored based on the SOP by Malaysia’s human resources ministry in collaboration with the health ministry and the National Security Council.

The curtail (selected privileged recruitment agencies) and collusion (popularly known as syndicate) is illegal according to Bangladesh’s Competition Act 2012.

Malaysia also has similar competition laws and they have allowed all registered recruitment agencies to work under the MOU with Bangladesh.

Interestingly in Bangladesh the office of the Ministry of Manpower and Overseas Employment and the Completion Commission is in the same building in the Ramna area.

However, the Ministry is unware of the law while the Competition Commission is similarly unaware of the curtail in manpower export to Malaysia time and again. – Jan 17, 2022

 

M S Siddiqui is a legal economist.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

 

Pic credit: The Edge

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