Washing hands of workers’ plight

While 81 migrant workers returning from Vietnam were incarcerated for more than a month, before finally being released from prison over this past week, the recruiting agents who sent them to the Southeast Asian country in the first place are going scot-free and denying all claims of trafficking.

They are emboldened by the fact that such workers' recruitment, employment, and paper processing are dealt with by up to three layers of recruiting agents.

Often the agency who represents a worker on his/her emigration clearance -- that means the agency officially sending the worker abroad -- has never even met the worker or seen the worker's paperwork.

So, in the case of the migrant workers returning from Vietnam, all paper trails point back to the agency listed on the emigration clearance -- the agency the worker had never met and has little evidence against.

These agencies are now denying trafficking charges, saying they had not even met the workers and their licences were misused by others.

Meanwhile, the intermediary agencies too are flat-out denying sending the workers to Vietnam, confident that the only thread linking them to this trafficking are the workers' verbal testimonies.

Over the last few months, Brac's Migration Programme unit interviewed 120 migrant workers in Vietnam to map out the actors involved.

By collecting the Bureau of Manpower, Employer and Training (BMET) smart cards from the workers, they found that 11 recruiting agencies were involved in getting these workers' emigration clearances.

Through worker testimonials, Brac identified a further 11 agencies involved in passport and visa processing, as well as 52 local recruiting agents.

BMET clearance records collected by Brac link M/S A Jharna Trade International with sending at least 28 workers, who did not get their promised jobs, to Vietnam.

The clearances stated the workers were employed for 13 Vietnamese companies; apart from one company -- Nam Phuong Xanh Company Ltd based in the city of Vung Tau -- none of the other companies have a digital presence.

However, the proprietor of M/S A Jharna Trade International, Shanto Das, claimed that he had allowed another agency to use his licence by "mistake".

"I am a new business owner; I had just gotten the licence. A partner wanted to use my licence and I had allowed him. I had nothing to do with this," he claimed.

While he refused to name his "partners", stating that he is in the middle of financial negotiations with them, worker testimonials taken by Brac identified Al Noman Human Resource, M/S Satkhira International, M/S Advent Overseas Ltd, and Star Line Associate as the intermediary agents.

Pranesh Kumar Mahot, a workshop welder, told The Daily Star that he was sent to Vietnam by an Al Noman Human Resource agent named Saiful Islam.

"I was recruited by a Bogura-based dalal called Asgor Ali who introduced me to Al Noman Human Resource," he said.

When asked about his clearing agency, M/S A Jharna Trade International, Pranesh replied, "What is Jharna?"

Pranesh said he was given an ad by Al Noman Human Resource stating "Urgent recruitment at Vietnamese Shipyard".

A copy of the ad received by this correspondent states that the agency sought 250 men for the shipyard, and promised a monthly salary of $510-650 for welders.

"I spent Tk 3.5 lakh to go there after being promised a monthly salary of $650 to work in a place called Keppel Shipyard. I didn't even earn $100," Pranesh said.

There was no Keppel Shipyard job waiting for him -- in fact, the BMET clearances obtained by Jharna Trade show no Keppel shipyard, as per Brac's migration unit.

After landing on January 28, Pranesh was made to sit around for more than a week. On February 7, he and 11 others he flew to Vietnam with were taken to a dry dock.

"We all gave interviews and only four of us got jobs, while the rest didn't. I worked there for a month before being fired. After that, I just sat around unemployed for five months," said Pranesh.

The Daily Star contacted two of the intermediary agents sending workers through Jharna Trade.

Both Star Line Associate's proprietor Firoz Md Mansurul Hoque and M/S Satkhira International's proprietor Sk Nazrul Islam told this correspondent that they never sent any workers to Vietnam.

However, as part of an ongoing investigation into these recruiting agencies, Rab-3 identified Firoz as the brother of a Vietnam-based Bangladeshi labour handler named Mostafa.

Eighty-one Bangladeshi workers from Vietnam, and two workers from Qatar, returned on August 18, following their imprisonment in these countries for involvement in criminal activities, according to local police.

A Dhaka court had sent them to jail on these charges on September 1.

On September 21, the High Court issued a rule asking the government to explain why directives should not be given to the authorities concerned to free the 83 Bangladeshi migrant workers.

NOT WHAT THEY SIGNED UP FOR

Jharna Trade's Shanto Das claimed, "I have spoken to the agents in Vietnam. They [the workers] were given jobs, but they refused to work."

To prove his statement, he gave this correspondent copies of four resignation letters in English, signed by four workers.

The workers' families, however, said they were duped into signing the letters.

The letters, addressed to the management board of Nam Phuong Xanh, stated, "I would like you to give me permission to not continue working at the Company because I plan to return to Bangladesh. This is my personal desire. I also confirm that when I go to work, the Company pays me full. I also confirm that Company has arranged the work for me, but I don't like this job, so I do not work."

This correspondent called the family of one of the signees -- a worker named Md Milon Miah -- to ask why Milon resigned from his job.

"My brother never held a permanent position in Vietnam. He went there on January 4 or 5, and got 10 days of work. After that, he was sitting around unemployed for a month. Then he got seven more days of work, before that job too vanished," said Shilon Miah, speaking on behalf of his brother who was until recently in jail.

"That was the last job he had -- he was unemployed up until he came back to Bangladesh. He did not get a single coin in wages for the jobs he did," he said.

"Milon only studied up till class five and cannot understand or write in English."

Milon's signature on the letter was his name written in English in disjointed, spaced-out block letters.

"In June, after six months of unemployment, we told the recruiting agent to bring Milon back if he cannot give him a job. The agent agreed and said Milon needs to sign a letter saying he is leaving Vietnam willingly," Shilon said.

That was the "resignation letter", he added.

As agents at all levels deny charges of trafficking, evidence states otherwise.

Mizanur Rahman was sent to Vietnam by M/S Mam and Mam Overseas, according to his BMET card. His family spent Tk 3.5 lakh to send him to work at a furniture factory, stated his brother-in-law Kamrul.

But the visa application letter submitted on his behalf to the Vietnam Embassy in Dhaka on January 10 this year, only sought a visa for four months.

At that rate, the eighth-grade graduate would have needed to earn close to a lakh each month just to get back the money he spent to go there.

The invitation letter was sent by a construction company called Công Ty Tnhh Một Thành Viên Xây Dựng Thương Mại Vĩnh Cường Thịnh based in Thủ Dầu Một city.

His family had no idea about any of this.

"He has never physically gone to the embassy in Dhaka as far as we know," said Kamrul, "nor did he get any job in Vietnam. That is why he went to seek help at the Bangladesh Embassy in Hanoi and ended up in jail."

Similarly, another worker Kashem Miah was sent on a DN "entrepreneur" visa by Mam and Mam Overseas that was only valid for a month -- January 3 to February 2, 2020.

When M/S Mam and Mam Overseas was called to ask why they applied for such a short "entrepreneur" visa for the worker, the agency's manager Habibur Rahman denied being involved.

"We were fooled by a business partner. Our business partner is Noorjahan Akhter, who was arrested by the police. She owns 25 percent of the business."

Akhter, a Wage Earners' Welfare Board accounts section official and a former data entry operator at BMET, and her husband Md Abdus Satter were arrested in July for trafficking and are currently out on bail.

Anamul Huq and Shariful Islam too were sent as "entrepreneurs" for one month each, by Jharna Trade and M/S Estema International Recruiting Agency respectively.

FAKE PAPERS

While fake documents reigned supreme when sending such workers to Vietnam, none of the government agencies concerned caught it.

For example, before Shital Chandra Sarker was sent to Vietnam by M/S Shandhani Overseas, the recruiting agents got certificates from Nadia Furniture and Medallion Furniture, stating that he worked there between September 2014 and September 2015.

One letter stated that "he was instructed in professional business skills, such as: introducing products in a scientific way, finding, caring, maintaining relations with customers, solving problems at the request of customers."

However, Shital's brother Sanjay claimed that Shital never worked in any furniture store in Dhaka.

"We lived in Dhaka a few years back, but he was not working anywhere. He had just got back from Dubai and was living off his savings. Then, we shifted to our village and he got involved in farming," said Sanjay.

Shital's certificates were attested by a High Court lawyer and an assistant director of BMET, and the attestors were verified. The papers were then again attested by an assistant secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and an assistant secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At least 14 other workers had similar certificates from all major furniture stores in Dhaka, and attested by the above-mentioned government officials -- but as The Daily Star could not independently verify these, hence it is refraining from naming them.

Shandhani's MD Mosleh Uddin, asked about Shital's case, denied sending any workers to Vietnam.

"My licence was used by someone else and I was billed to bring back 21 workers at Tk 34,000 each," he alleged.

BMET clearance records link Shandhani with sending 20 migrant workers to Vietnam. The clearances stated the workers were being sent to work in four companies, of which only one had a Yellow Pages listing.

Worker testimonials collected by Brac found two other intermediary agencies, Mash Career Services and Kazi Enterprises.

Mash Career's agent Shohag is already in jail, having been arrested by Rab in July.

Kazi Enterprise' Moshiur Rahman denied being involved. "I just run a photocopy business in Paltan and my customers are agents. I never sent anyone to Vietnam," he said.

Only two local recruiting agents drew up notarised contracts with the workers they sent, rendering them culpable for trafficking.

As per copies of these contracts received by this newspaper: Anowar Hossain of Five Star Aviation signed a contract with Nur Hossain and sent him via Jharna Trade; and Mojammel Haque from Cumilla signed a contract with Polash Ahmed, Rayhan, Masum Miah, Rubel and Masud, promising them salaries of $400-600 and sent them using Shandhani Overseas.

Other agents who denied sending workers abroad, when contacted, include M/S Afeef International.

Jashim Uddin, the proprietor of the recruiting agency, alleged that his licence was misused by a "syndicate".

"Ask the migrant workers if they have ever met me. They will not be able to claim that I ever took a single Taka from them, or met them even once," he said.

To clear his name, Jashim also submitted letters directed towards the director general of BMET and the secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, claiming that he is not at fault and is a victim of forgery.

BMET DG Md Shamsul Alam said the agencies in whose name the clearances have been taken are responsible for the situation.

"Their names and licences were used to send these workers abroad. It does not matter if the violations were caused by other agents using their licences -- it was in their name, and they are being held responsible," he said.

CR Abrar, executive director of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, however, said local and intermediary recruiting agents too have to be held responsible.

"Right now, the law does not recognise their role but they are the main nexus between recruiting agencies, the government, and the workers. The licensed recruiting agencies never have local branch offices and are always reliant on local agents to recruit, and most of the workers get their clearances through the local agents. This needs to be brought under the purview of law."

Either way, the BMET DG's words bear hope for Raju Ahammad, despite not knowing who he was actually defrauded by.

The worker from Sharsha in Jashore only knows that he was recruited by Port City International -- and has no idea that his only contracts are with M/S Rezwan Overseas, an agency he does not even recognise.

In the absence of documents, Port City's proprietor Md Badiul Alam denied all allegations when contacted by this correspondent.

"I spent Tk 4 lakh to go to Vietnam. I only got VND 5.5 million, which is equivalent to Tk 20,000. Please help me get my money back," Raju entreated.