Bangladesh to maintain protocols in labour migration to Malaysia: PM

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said, Bangladesh will send workers to Malaysia maintaining all necessary protocols, including vaccination and other formalities.

She gave the assurance while Malaysian human resources minister M Saravanan called on her at her official residence Ganobhaban.

She also expressed her deep satisfaction over organising the first meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two countries.

The premier hoped that both sides will be able to devise ways to ensure safe, regular, inexpensive, and orderly employment of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.

She appreciated the decision of the Malaysian government to recruit Bangladeshi security personnel for non-military purposes.

Malaysian minister M Saravanan expressed his deep concern over the chance of human trafficking as the implementation of the MoU signed between the two countries gets delayed.

He expressed his satisfaction over holding the ongoing Joint Working Group meeting under the auspice of the MoU on the employment of workers signed in December 2021 between the two countries.

He explained the reorganisation of their human resource ministry from the ministry of home affairs and their domestic employment process streamlining following the ILO guidelines.

In this connection, he said that Malaysia has taken 5-Years Action Plan for the Migrant Workers.

To this end, he mentioned they have already increased the minimum wage to RM 1500. In such a case, Bangladesh could earn US$ 45 billion in next 5 years with more than 500,000 expatriate workers in Malaysia, he added.

The minister also said, now they have digitized all employment process so that every step protects the rights of the migrant workers.

He said that Malaysia only takes online applications from job seekers and they have installed e-payment system that is transferred directly from the employers to the workers’ salary card account without keeping any recruiting agencies in the middle.

The prime minister welcomed the visiting Malaysian minister to Bangladesh during the year of the Golden Jubilee of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

She recalled that Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur relationship stands on a solid base since Malaysia recognised Bangladesh immediately after the independence in 1971.