Zero-cost recruitment deal soon: Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka are close to finalising the zero-cost recruitment agreement that will facilitate the hiring of Bangladeshis into the Southeast Asian country soon.

“I’m sending the Malaysia-Bangladesh Joint Working Group to Dhaka, Bangladesh, soon to iron out the remaining issues on the zero-cost recruitment agreement,” said Malaysian Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran.

“Almost all matters have been settled and we have come very close to finalising it,” he was quoted by Malaysian newspaper the Malaysian Reserve yesterday. 

“The Bangladeshi government has said they won’t be sending workers without due compliance and there must be due compliance to the necessary provision, just like what we reached with Nepal,” he added.

Malaysia, which is home to some eight lakh Bangladeshis, suspended labour recruitment from Bangladesh in September 2018 following allegations that a syndicate of 10 Bangladeshi agents -- with support from Malaysia -- controlled labour recruitment between 2016 and 2018, when recruitment cost went up to Tk 4 lakh.

Malaysia’s previous government had insisted on a selection of the 10 Bangladeshi agents in the recruitment job, but the Mahathir-led government suspended it.

Last year, Malaysia signed a labour deal with Nepal, stipulating that workers will not have to pay any recruitment cost.

Employers are responsible for the recruitment service charges, two-way airfare, visa fees, health check-up, security screening and levy charges.

Officials of Bangladesh and Malaysia met several times last year, but are yet to sign a new deal, though Malaysia suffers from labour shortage in its industries.

Last week, Kulesegaran said Malaysia is looking to  establish a zero-cost recruitment deal with Bangladesh to eliminate forced labour and avoid possible trade sanctions from the US.

Last October, the US Customs and Border Protection blocked imported goods from five companies that were accused of practicing forced labour, including Malaysian glove maker WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd.

The US Customs said imported goods that are wholly produced or in part of forced labour are illegal to be imported under the US law.

The instruction came after about 2,000 of WRP Asia Pacific’s migrant workers from Bangladesh and Nepal staged a three-day strike for their salaries being withheld early last year.

The blockage also took a toll on WRP Asia Pacific, as it temporarily suspended its business operations in December, and appointed interim liquidators.