Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia: No end to hardship
Research done by the UN reveals an alarming organised criminal system formed between Malaysia and Bangladesh, where Bangladeshi migratory labourers have been betrayed. They are being recruited by Malaysian companies which are mostly fake and non-existent. The worst part about this whole scenario is that the overseas Bangladeshi workers have paid such a huge amount of money to these middle men or to these Malaysian foreign companies, they have gone financially broke. They are emotionally damaged, their dreams shattered and many lives have been destroyed.
Most such migratory workers have paid a minimum five lac taka for the sake of a job in Malaysia and such a trend of Bangladeshi labour migrating to Malaysia started at the end of the year 2022. At the present moment there are 8 lac such Bangladeshi workers who are in this calamity, unemployed in Malaysia.
Because of such a disaster, the UN and various other NGOs are demanding the Labor Wing of Bangladeshi embassy of Malaysia to be more effective and efficient in giving approval to job demand letters coming from various foreign companies who are giving employment visas to migratory Bangladeshi workers.
Another big issue which has been noted from the reports of UNHR states that the Bangladeshi labour migrating for work to Malaysia are being forced to overstay more than their work permit. This leads to arrests of Bangladeshi migratory workers. They are being detained in jail and some even being deported to Bangladesh.
Another study by UN states that the Bangladeshi migratory workers are being treated like slaves once they are arriving in Malaysia. Their passports are being confiscated by the foreign companies and the worker has no freedom of movement. They are toiling day and night with little to no rest in of Malaysia in exchange of a very low payment and sometimes not getting a single penny for their strenuous effort.
A syndicate of 100 recruiting agencies of Bangladesh is preventing other Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to recruit workers. These unethical practices and ruthless greed lead to the endless suffering of the majority of the poor masses of migratory Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia
The UN and NGOs are stating that both government of Bangladesh and Malaysia are to be blamed for this injustice. Research has found that it has become a trend for many decades for the government of Bangladesh and the governing authority figures of Malaysia to choose 100 such Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to carry recruitment of Bangladeshi labour. Such a syndicate of 100 recruiting agencies of Bangladesh is preventing other Bangladeshi recruiting agencies to recruit workers. These unethical practices and ruthless greed lead to the endless suffering of the majority of the poor masses of migratory Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.
* HM Naseef Akbar Talukder is a lecturer of Primeasia University