The country’s manpower exporters on Wednesday alleged that a syndicate is responsible for the price hike of air tickets for flyers to the Middle East.
“Migrant workers are suffering due to high ticket prices, so are the manpower exporters. The syndicate is responsible for this price increase,” they said.
The manpower exporters raised the allegation at the first meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI)’s Standing Committee on Manpower and Skill Development.
They said before Covid started, the average fare of an air ticket from Bangladesh to the Middle East was Tk50,000, which now has doubled.
Dr Mohammed Faruque, chairman of the FBCCI's standing committee, complained that in the past, the entire process of sending manpower to Malaysia was in the hands of only ten companies.
Their corruption and irregularities led the Malaysian government to stop taking workers from Bangladesh at one stage, he alleged. “Now the same clique is active to send migrant workers to the country through 25 companies.”
Also Read- Malaysia reopens door to Bangladeshi migrant workers
At the meeting, other members of the standing committee also expressed their concerns about the syndicate in the manpower sector.
Citing the examples of Nepal, India and Pakistan, they said: “Each of these countries is exporting manpower to Malaysia through more than one and a half thousand recruiting agents. Therefore, there is no reason to limit the number of agents in Bangladesh.”
The manpower exporters demanded the inclusion of a nominated member of the FBCCI in the meeting of the Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Working Committee to break the syndicate in this sector.
They also discussed amending the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, raising the incentive rate on remittances from 2% to 3%.
The FBCCI's Standing Committee on Manpower and Skill Development has decided to inform the concerned ministries and the Prime Minister's Office, about the existing problems in the manpower export.
FBCCI Vice-President Md Habib Ullah Dawn, also the director-in-charge of the committee, recommended bringing the manpower sector under government incentives to deal with the pandemic.
Also Read- Analysis: Malaysia's labour abuse allegations a risk to export growth model
He said the manpower sector is contributing 12% to the country's GDP. “Therefore, I call for more attention from the government in this regard.”
He urged the government to take steps to officially honour the manpower exporters who have contributed to the economy.
Co-Chairman of the committee Reaz-ul-Islam, Mostafa Mahmud, Heroic Ghulam Mustafa (Babul), Mohammed Seraj Miah, Mofiz Uddin, Md Redwan Khan (Borhan) and Kazi MA Qashem, FBCCI Director Amzad Hussain and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, among others, were present in the meeting.
On December 19, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the ministerial level of the two countries to send workers from Bangladesh to Malaysia. Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs are to be formulated soon.