Labour Recruitment: Expat minister meets Mahathir
Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad yesterday met Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and discussed in detail the issues concerning labour recruitment and welfare.
During the courtesy call at Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office in Kuala Lumpur, the minister also conveyed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s greetings to Mahathir.
“The minister mentioned the good relations between the two brotherly nations and thanked Mahathir Mohamad for his strong position beside Bangladesh on various issues,” said a statement issued by the expatriates’ welfare ministry.
The minister had a fruitful discussion on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. He requested Prime Minister Mahathir’s cooperation in this regard, the statement said.
Malaysia has taken a strong stance beside Bangladesh on the Rohingya crisis, but labour relations have been sour, often remaining off and on, due to malpractices in recruitment and exploitative practices in Malaysia.
The Mahathir-led government suspended labour recruitment from Bangladesh in September last year, alleging that there was a monopoly by a syndicate of 10 recruiting agents, which were authorised by the previous Malaysian government.
Workers had to spend up to Tk 4 lakh each, though the recruitment cost was initially set at Tk 37,000 under the G2G Plus deal signed in 2016.
The two governments are now working out a new deal for fresh recruitment from Bangladesh.
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