Crisis in the Manpower Export Sector Due to Lack of Coordination
Published: 29 October 2024 | Bangla Version 

On June 1, 2024, when Malaysia stopped receiving workers, the ministry requested that visa and BMET-cleared workers register with them. About 4,000 reported to the ministry and BMET, although the promised list of 17,000 affected workers was not provided. Subsequently, agencies holding quota allocations were instructed to refund all expenses to the workers. Upon taking office, Dr. Asif Nazrul, a distinguished academic and the new advisor, initiated prompt measures to resolve this issue. On August 28, 2024, a meeting was held with relevant stakeholders, leading to the following decisions:

1. Recruitment agencies must notify the ministry by September 3, 2024, of completed refunds or settlements with affected workers.

2. Supporting recruitment agencies must notify primary agencies by September 10, 2024, of their completed settlements with affected workers.

The designated agencies made efforts to comply, and most workers were refunded their passport and money through either direct or intermediary agents. However, intermediary agencies did not progress significantly in refunding the workers. On September 24, 2024, the advisor informed that, although most primary agencies complied, only about 25% of the intermediary agencies provided refunds.

A concerning issue is that unauthorized agencies circumvented the process by buying visas from employers and using fake demand letters and powers of attorney, forcing authorized agencies to act as mere processing agents. These unauthorized agencies raised recruitment costs exorbitantly, charging up to BDT 500,000 or more. They purchased visas from employers and illegally paid them by overcharging workers, while trying to hold the authorized 101 agencies accountable.

Regrettably, the current secretary has opposed these authorized agencies, despite advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul’s instructions, directing agencies to refund the full amount to workers, contrary to prior meeting agreements. Agencies complying with ministry instructions cannot afford repeated refunds. Since assuming office, Secretary Ruhul Amin delayed decision-making for two months, pending familiarization. This led to significant delays in demand letters and BMET clearances, limiting workers' travel to Malaysia until the ticket shortage eased in May, resulting in 45,031 Bangladeshi departures, compared to 44,075 from other source countries.