The Bangladesh Association for International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) has claimed no irregularity was reported in sending workers to Malaysia.
The Malaysian government and the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment of Bangladesh are responsible for the crisis of workers sent to Malaysia, they blamed.
Manpower agencies said this at a press conference at Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Convention Hall on Tuesday afternoon.
Govt seeks information about workers who could not go to MalaysiaThey claimed that there was no irregularity in sending workers to Malaysia till May 31.
Ali Haider Chowdhury, general secretary of Baira, said in the press conference that the Malaysian government has continued to issue visas even after the scheduled time and Bangladesh’s ministry has given clearance despite knowing that workers cannot be sent at the last minute.
In response to a question, he further said that it was not possible to arrange flights for the workers going to Malaysia, as e-visas were issued even after the May 31 deadline.
He said: "We noticed that the deadline expired on May 31, yet the e-visa was issued on June 2.”
In the briefing, Mohammad Ruhul Amin Swapan, former general secretary of Baira said that it has become a common practice for 2-3% of BMET (Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training) certified workers not to go to their destination countries.
This could be due to blacklisting of companies for misconduct or lack of tickets, he claimed.
Regarding the ministry's calculation of 16,970 workers who cannot go to Malaysia, he said, this number is not more than 5,000-6,000.
He added that they are working with the government to send them to Malaysia or return their money.
He said the ministry has formed an inquiry committee to determine the actual number based on the complaints.
Asked about sending over 8,300 people this time compared to more than 300 before joining the syndicate in 2022, MP Nizam Uddin Hazari denied the existence of any syndicate among the recruiting agencies.
He said he was not involved in sending anyone to Malaysia or the visa process. He just simplified the whole process.
The lawmaker also said the Malaysian government has coincidentally rehired agencies to send workers to the country. If it is not possible to send any workers to Malaysia, they will be compensated.
He claimed that a particular group was actively trying to defame them (recruiting agencies) through various means.
In response to a question about the complaints raised in some media, Benazir Ahmed, president of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs, said there is no opportunity to look into such complaints.
He added it was an automated process and 101 agencies sent workers to Malaysia through this system
Unrest has arisen over recruiting manpower from Bangladesh to Malaysia.
The stakeholders blamed the Malaysian government's labour recruitment system for Bangladesh, a joint syndicate of recruiting agencies in Bangladesh and Malaysia, and air ticket syndicates of domestic and foreign airlines with high ticket prices as reasons behind their displeasure.
This year, the deadline for sending migrant workers to Malaysia was May 31. Thousands of Bangladeshi workers failed to go to Malaysia despite completing all official procedures, including visas and appointments.
Recruiting agencies took clearance for 893,642 workers from the BMET, and 476,642 of them made it to the country.
According to the BMET, they have so far received information on 17,500 workers who could not go as the deadline ended.
