Even five years ago, the recruiting agencies were allowed to apply for visa from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia before sending recruits to the embassy-enlisted medical centres for check-up, the fee of which was Tk 1,200.

However, the situation changed since the formation of Gamca with 28 Gulf countries in 2000 with the approval of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) health ministers.

Soon afterwards, Gamca with tacit support from the Saudi embassy gave itself the authority to specify where a recruit must have his medical check-up done. It also made it mandatory for the recruits to have a medical check-up before submitting applications for visa, and raised the fee to Tk 1500.

The Bangladesh Association for International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) alleges that such practices have created a monopolistic regime in the medical check-up process for recruits, foiling the true purpose of the system and burdening prospective migrants with unnecessary fees.

"As a result, a recruit is left with no choice but to have his check-up done from the particular centre assigned by the Gamca," said Baira President Md Mosharraf Hossain. "This gives that particular centre a monopolistic attitude to extort the recruit."

Adding to this monopolistic scheme, 18 recruiting agents directly or indirectly own almost two-thirds of the Gamca medical centres, said Baira executive committee member Abdul Alim. Ownership of both a recruiting agency and a medical centre by one is a powerful means to monopolise the trade, he added.

With this advantage, most of the enlisted medical centres perform a wide range of unnecessary medical activities including X-ray and blood test several times, Mosharraf, also a lawmaker, noted. These centres also ignore reports from institutions like the Combined Military Hospital or the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh if the reports contradict their own findings, he added.

The recruits are also forced to "purchase" the medical certificate declaring them fit from the Gamca-prescribed medical clinics for employment in Saudi Arabia at whatever price, Alim alleged.

"The recruits have to incur all these expenses without knowing if their visa papers are genuine," Abdul Alim said. This practice only ensures the profit of Gamca, he observed.

When contacted, Gamca President Jahangir Alam said all the problems have been solved and Baira and Gamca will co-operate each other on the issue as per the expatriates' welfare minister's direction in a recent meeting. He, however, could not say what the minister had directed to settle the problem and declined to talk further.

"It is very difficult to find the victims--who would dare to complain against the medical centres when overseas employment is much more important for them, even if in exchange of some 'extra money'," Alim said.

However, one victim in his written complaint last year said he secured a medical certificate declaring him fit from a Gamca-enlisted centre as a general client, but a week later, the centre declared him unfit when he had the check up done as an aspirant migrant worker.

"The centre demanded extra money for declaring me 'fit' and, when I refused to pay the money, directed me to consult with the recruiting agency concerned," he said.

A number of recruiting agencies admitted of the widespread monopoly, but said they can do nothing unless the higher authorities look into the matter.

When contacted, State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Major (retd) Quamrul Islam said he held meetings on the issue with all the authorities concerned and has sent a letter to the foreign ministry to settle it in consultation with the GCC, particularly with Saudi Arabia.

About 2.72 lakh people migrated for overseas employment last year alone, the highest number in recent years. Sixty percent of them went to Saudi Arabia.