The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) has warned that newly imposed conditions for sending workers to Malaysia risk reviving recruitment syndicates, potentially handing control of overseas labour migration back to a small group of powerful agencies.
RMMRU said the 10 conditions are structured in a way that would exclude the vast majority of recruiting agencies, effectively concentrating the Malaysia market in a few hands. Among the key requirements are a minimum of five years of a valid recruitment licence, proof of deploying at least 3,000 workers abroad over the past five years, experience in sending workers to at least three destination countries, a "good conduct certificate" with no record of human trafficking or forced labour, and ownership of a permanent office and training centre of at least 10,000 square feet that has been operational for a minimum of three years.
The concerns were raised at a press conference held on Wednesday at the National Press Club's Tofazzel Hossain Manik Mia Hall, where RMMRU presented its latest assessment of trends in Bangladesh's labour migration sector.
RMMRU Founder Chair and Acting Executive Director Dr Tasneem Siddiqui said reopening the Malaysian labour market through the same syndicate leaders-without holding them accountable for past irregularities-was unacceptable, especially under a short-term, reform-oriented government.
"Recycling the same actors responsible for previous abuses undermines transparency, competition and fairness in labour migration," she said.
According to RMMRU's report, a total of 1,130,757 Bangladeshis migrated abroad for employment in 2025, up from 1,011,969 in 2024. While Bangladeshi workers migrated to 141 countries, nearly 90 percent went to just five destinations.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination, receiving 754,369 workers-about 67 percent of the total. Qatar followed with 107,596 workers, Singapore with 70,177, Kuwait with 42,241, the Maldives with 40,139 and Jordan with 10,525. Other destinations included Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan.
Dr Siddiqui expressed serious concern over the continued decline in female labour migration. Until 2016, women made up around 16 percent of Bangladesh's overseas workforce, with more than 100,000 women migrating annually between 2016 and 2019. Although the numbers fell during the Covid-19 pandemic, female migration rebounded to 105,466 in 2022.
However, in 2025, only 62,317 women migrated abroad for work-just 5.5 percent of total migrants. In 2024, the figure stood at 61,158, reflecting a marginal year-on-year increase of only 1.9 percent.
Citing RMMRU research, Dr Siddiqui said female migration has shown a worrying downward trend over the past three years, driven by uncertainty over decent working conditions, workplace and domestic violence, and a surge in negative media coverage. At the same time, she noted, positive success stories often remain ignored.
She also pointed out that women's participation in the garment sector has fallen sharply-from around 90 percent in earlier years to about 55 percent now. While the Fourth Industrial Revolution is often cited as a cause, she said further research is needed to examine whether conservative patriarchal attitudes are again limiting women's access to work.
In its written statement, RMMRU highlighted a major data gap in migration governance. Although official statistics track the number of Bangladeshis who have migrated abroad since 1976, there is still no reliable data on how many workers return home each year after completing their contracts.
Despite repeated discussions between the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Ministry of Home Affairs, no effective mechanism has been established to record returnees. As a result, the actual number of Bangladeshi workers currently living abroad remains unknown.
RMMRU placed a series of recommendations, including upgrading the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) into a full-fledged directorate with multiple departments; creating a dedicated cadre service under the expatriates' welfare ministry to preserve institutional memory; and ensuring the Wage Earners' Welfare Board fund is used strictly for direct migrant services, with a separate allocation for administrative costs.
