Editorial
PM's warning against fraudulent manpower agents
Time to take concrete action to punish offenders
AFTER so many instances of cheating over so long a period, Prime Minister's warning that instant action would be taken against delinquent manpower recruiting agencies is too little too late. What we need is concrete action of punishing some recruiting agents who have broken the law.
We have already heard such warnings from her on various occasions on different issues for umpteen times. Those include offenders against law from river-grabbers to tender traders to recalcitrant student activists to corrupt-prone public servants and ministers. But in most cases nothing came of her warnings.
The upshot of it is that fraudulent manpower agencies have been preying on overseas job seekers with both at home and abroad with gay abandon. Despite the media's relentless efforts to expose the culprits and bring their misdeeds to the notice of the authorities concerned, governments so far have done precious little to stop the evil practice.
The brokers, who work for the licence-holding recruiting agencies to collect the overseas job seekers from different places, are also involved in the cheating. A section of the expatriates involved in visa trade for the migrant workers are also a party to the crime. And they, together, maintain a deep nexus with the administration and ruling party of the day.
The regulatory body of the manpower agencies, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), has the power to only suspend the licences of recruiting agents found guilty of fraudulence. It cannot even cancel their licences, though it can recommend to the ministry for such action. Small wonder, offenders facing suspension have often been able to get back their licences to start their business afresh.
That calls for developing a failsafe mechanism backed by strong political will of the government to break the nexus of the errant recruiting agents.
So it is important to ensure that the prime minister's warning against the crooked recruiting agents may not again fizzle out like before. That would be as good as sending a wrong message to the offenders against law. In that case, they would get further emboldened to commit their crimes with a vengeance. So, the only way to strike real fear in them is to demonstrate the will of the government by ensuring that the evildoers get their comeuppance.
The task of bringing the offending manpower dealers to book is not a tall order. For there are already laws to deal with these culprits. So, what is required most at the moment is to devise a system to keep a close watch on the recruiting business to screen out the fraudulent elements. In this respect, the government would do well to use the experience and expertise of organisations and individuals working in this field to evolve such an effective mechanism to bust the criminal nexus.
Now that the stage of issuing warnings is over, it is hoped that the prime minister would put her foot down to demonstrate her government's seriousness and take exemplary actions to punish the delinquent manpower recruiting agents.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Related News
India’s ‘push-in’ strategy violates international law
3 hour(s) ago
Editorial
Why build roads through a reserved forest?
8 hour(s) ago
Editorial
An alarming report on children’s exposure to climate risks
19 June 2026, 19:07 PM
Editorial
Why is safe water inaccessible for millions despite rising spending?
19 June 2026, 08:00 AM
Editorial
BB must confront bad loans’ true scale
18 June 2026, 18:38 PM
Editorial
Comments