A delegation of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) yesterday called on State Minister for Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment M Quamrul Islam and requested him to lift the embargo.

The government stopped issuing permission to workers intending to go to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for cleaning and construction jobs from this month following the report of high migration cost and low salary for the jobs, sources said.

The state minister however said the government will grant permission to workers if the migration cost comes down to below Tk one lakh.

The migration cost recently went up to Tk 1.60 lakh to Tk 1.80 lakh for a job offering a salary of only Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000, according to sources.

President of Baira Mosharraf Hossain MP led the delegation while its Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury and a group of Saudi Arabia-based Bangladeshi recruiting agents attended the meeting.

The meeting decided to send a delegation to Saudi Arabia very soon for negotiating with the Saudi government. The team will talk to the workers and prepare a list of companies who often violate recruitment rules and offer poor salary.

The meeting also asked the job-seekers not to buy visa advice at exorbitant price, which increases the migration cost. The Baira formed a sub-committee to monitor the visa advice price in Saudi Arabia and report to the ministry.

The government will take action against the recruiters following the report from Baira, sources said.