Not human trafficking, but orderly worker deployment as per agreement.
Published: 29 Oct, 2024 | Bangla Version
Not human trafficking, but orderly worker deployment as per agreement.
Published: 29 Oct, 2024 | Bangla Version
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Published: 29 Oct, 2024 | Bangla Version
According to the memorandum of understanding between the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia, workers were sent following verified procedures and set regulations, which does not constitute human trafficking. In this process, 101 authorized recruiting agencies from Malaysia were involved in worker recruitment. Each step, including worker verification, medical examinations, training, visa processing, and final approvals, was ensured. Since the workers were sent legally, there was no evidence of human trafficking in this migration process. Rather, the workers expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work in Malaysia. Read More...
According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed on December 19, 2021, between the governments of Bangladesh and Malaysia, the Malaysian government enlisted 101 recruiting agencies, including BOESL, for sending Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
These enlisted Bangladeshi recruiting agencies have sent workers to Malaysia in accordance with the procedures established by both governments for recruiting workers under the quotas allocated by the Malaysian government through the Auto Allocation System. In this case, Demand Letters were attestation by Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia and the recruitment permission was granted by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment for the recruitment of workers under these quota, as approved by the Government of Malaysia.
It is noteworthy that after obtaining approval of Quota for recruitment of workers, employers have paid levy to the Malaysian Government for each worker and have collected the approval for calling visas and e-visas. Additionally, the employers have paid fees for the attestation of Demand Letters from Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia for those workers of allocated quota.
Subsequently, after selecting workers according to the approved procedures of both governments and conducting health examinations at government-approved medical centers, employers have obtained group-based calling visa approval from Malaysia's Immigration Department for these workers. Then, applications for e-Visas have been made through the Malaysian Government's online system. Once the Malaysian Immigration Authority granted individual e-Visa approval for each worker, those visas were collected from the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka. After completion of pre-departure training, obtaining certificates and the final immigration clearance from BMET, the workers were only allowed to travel to Malaysia on work visa.
"On the other hand, human trafficking is defined in the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012 as follows;"
3 (1): (a) By displaying threats or using force; or
(b) By deceiving or exploiting the economic, social, environmental, or any other vulnerability of the person; or
(c) By obtaining the consent of a person who has control over that individual through the exchange of money or other benefits;
- For the purpose of sexual exploitation, abuse, labor exploitation, or any other form of exploitation, selling or purchasing, collecting or receiving, deporting or transferring, smuggling, detaining, hiding, or harboring within or outside Bangladesh.
3 (2): Offenses related to child trafficking; since adult workers have been sent to Malaysia lawfully, this provision does not apply to the recruiting agencies for sending workers to Malaysia on work visa.
Mentionable that, workers have been sent in accordance with the prevailing laws, regulations, and terms of agreements between the two countries; therefore, this does not fall under the human trafficking law in any way. To ensure that workers are not subjected to human trafficking in the context of labor export, authenticity of the Demand Letters, issued by the Malaysian government have been attested by the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia. These attested Demand Letters have been further verified by the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and then granted permission for the recruitment of workers. After completing all procedures, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) have conducted final verification and issued an immigration clearance. No worker has been able to enter Malaysia with an e-Visa without this immigration clearance. Even after all these verification steps, recruiting agencies undertake responsibility for ensuring workers' salaries, allowances, and other necessary service benefits during the contract period with the respective employer.
Before traveling to Malaysia, a contract is signed between the employer and the worker in both English and Bengali, which must be adhered to by both parties and it is supervised by the Malaysian government and the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. In case of any deviation, the employer must be accountable to the Malaysian government, and the enlisted recruiting agencies to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment. Therefore, no worker has been sent to Malaysia against their will, under any coercion, or with any deceived information. Additionally, no worker has lodged any complaints regarding this matter; rather, they have expressed gratitude for the employment opportunities in Malaysia.
On behalf of the Bangladesh Government, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the immigration process and ensured that the immigration process is complied in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and national laws. The government has collected taxes and VAT from the agencies for this immigration process and fees for the clearance from BMET. Thus, the entire immigration process has been completed under the laws of both governments.
If there is any legal deviation in this immigration process of workers to Malaysia, the opinion of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment can be sought and should be addressed by the Ministry. The Government of Malaysia has granted employment opportunities for 4,76,672 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia during the period from 8th August 2022 to 31st May 2024 and there is also possibility of such employment opportunities in the near future. In this context, raising questions against any policy of the Malaysian government by a separate department or office beyond the established channel of communication, it may adversely affect the friendly bilateral relations between the two governments, which could severely harm national interests of Bangladesh.
The recruiting agencies have sent workers in compliance with all the provisions of the "Overseas Employment and Immigration Act, 2013," so the enlisted recruiting agencies have not committed any offenses in sending workers to Malaysia.
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