Pvt agencies swindle migrant workers
Says expatriate welfare secretary
Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan yesterday accused private manpower recruiting agencies of swindling migrant workers and overcharging them.
“In the past, the agencies charged twice or thrice the amount, they showed in documents, from the Malaysia-bound workers. This was sheer cheating,” he said.
He was speaking at the concluding session of a two-day dialogue styled “National Consultation on UN High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development”, held in the capital's Cirdap Auditorium.
Four Bangladeshi partners of Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) organised the consultation. They are Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), WARBE (Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants) Development Foundation, Association for Community Development, and Ain O Salish Kendra.
With the aim to end irregularities and ensure that workers are not exploited by unscrupulous middlemen, the government has decided to send workers to Malaysia under state arrangements, said Zafar.
This agreement between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur was signed on September 12. The private manpower recruiting agencies on September 19 threatened to close manpower export if the government did not withdraw its decision but the government disregarded their threats.
Speaking on migrant workers and development, Zafar said the issue should get more priority in terms of budgetary allocation and other facilities as it is closely related to the country's national development and lives of thousands of people.
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