Cost-free worker migration to Malaysia from December

The government plans to launch a cost-free overseas employment initiative in December, with the first two to three flights expected to take workers abroad without any migration expenses, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said on Thursday.

The initiative will initially focus on Malaysia, with the first batch of 10,000 workers expected to be recruited under the arrangement.

"December is the month of victory. We want to launch this initiative by operating the first two to three flights to send workers abroad free of cost during the month," the minister said at a meeting with recruiting agencies registered with Malaysia's Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) at Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in Eskaton, Dhaka.

He said foreign employers or their appointed agencies would bear all recruitment and migration-related expenses, leaving workers with nothing to pay. Some service charges previously payable to Bangladeshi recruiting agencies have also been waived to simplify the process.

The government is working to ensure equal opportunities for all licensed Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to send workers to Malaysia, rather than limiting recruitment to a handful of agencies, he said. He also expressed hope that a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Malaysia would be signed by December.

The government is considering setting up dedicated support cells in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and other destination countries to help migrant workers resolve problems after their arrival.

The minister said the medical examination fee for Malaysia-bound workers had been fixed at Tk 8,000, warning that agencies charging more would face legal action, including licence cancellation.

Urging recruiting agencies to maintain transparency and professionalism, he said irregularities by a few operators should not tarnish the reputation of the entire sector.

State Minister Md Nurul Haque urged agencies to ensure that poor job seekers did not suffer because of negligence or irregularities.

AKM Fazlul Haque Milon, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee concerned, Additional Secretary Ahmadul Haque, recruiting agency representatives and ministry officials attended the meeting.