The benefits of Bangladeshi workers' migration to Malaysia
Date: 29th September 2024 | Bangla Version
Date: 29th September 2024 | Bangla Version
From August 8, 2022, to May 2024, around 475,000 Bangladeshi workers have migrated to Malaysia through an online process, receiving monthly earnings of approximately 50,000 BDT, including overtime, and are paid through legal banking channels. This migration wave benefits about 2.5 million people, including workers and their families, and could generate nearly 285 billion BDT annually. Involvement from 101 approved agencies and about 1,100 recruiting agencies has been instrumental. To address concerns about investigative impacts, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare should ensure responsible oversight, facilitating better access to Malaysia’s labor market for Bangladeshi workers.
Under the existing memorandum of understanding, nearly 500,000 Bangladeshi workers have migrated to Malaysia from August 8, 2022, to May 31, 2024, over a period of 22 months.
Since the immigration process is entirely online, no workers have been misled upon their arrival in Malaysia. They have successfully joined their designated recruiting companies in accordance with regulations and are receiving their salaries and benefits through formal banking channels.
These workers receive a minimum salary of 1,500 ringgit, along with overtime, amounting to approximately 50,000 taka per month. Based on this, the collective monthly earnings of 4,75,000 workers would total 23,750 crore taka, which translates to an annual income of 28,500 crore taka.
All of these workers are doing well, and no complaints have been reported from them. Furthermore, the relevant department of the Malaysian government remains highly committed to ensuring that all rights and welfare provisions, as outlined in the workers' contracts, are fully upheld.
Since the current batch of workers has joined the workforce in Malaysia, the flow of foreign remittances has increased, and Malaysia has risen from 8th to 4th place in terms of remittance receipts. In August 2024 alone, the remittance amount received from Malaysia was 251.9 million US dollars.
Under the management of Catharsis International, arrangements have been made to send 358 workers to Malaysia completely free of charge (Employers Pay Model / Zero Cost Migration). The recruiting company has borne all immigration expenses and has also paid the recruiting charges to our agency through banking channels from Malaysia.
In the current phase, the nearly 500,000 workers migrating to Malaysia have positively impacted at least 2.5 million people, including their families and relatives.
With the approval of the Malaysian government, approximately 1,100 recruiting agencies, including 101 authorized agencies and their associated partners, are actively engaged in sending workers to Malaysia in the current phase, utilizing the Power of Attorney from employers.
If a recruitment agency in a country is repeatedly investigated by anti-corruption bodies or law enforcement agencies, or subjected to continuous negative media coverage, it can negatively impact the immigration process for workers in the host country. Such scrutiny may result in delays and complications in facilitating the smooth deployment of workers to that country.
According to the government's Allocation of Business, the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment is the authority responsible for overseeing all matters related to labor export. In this context, if ongoing or potential investigations by anti-corruption bodies or law enforcement agencies concerning the immigration of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia are halted, and if the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment assumes responsibility for overseeing and investigating the activities of the agencies involved in labor export while providing necessary support under existing laws, it is anticipated that the current instability in the sector will be resolved, leading to the prompt reopening of the Malaysian labor market for Bangladeshi workers.
Through productive discussions with the Malaysian government, there is a strong likelihood that Bangladeshi workers will have the opportunity to meet the growing demand for foreign labor in Malaysia's plantation and agricultural sectors.