Bangladeshi workers' plight in Malaysia: Coalition of migration orgs demand action against recruiting agency syndicate

Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants, a coalition of 23 organisations working with migrant workers, has called for action against the agencies responsible for the plight of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.

The coalition, which claimed to have been observing the plight of Bangladeshi workers who have gone to Malaysia since 2022, has also called on the Bangladesh government to stop sending workers through the system in the future, blaming the syndicate of recruiting agencies for the plight.

"The plight that the coalition had previously identified and expressed concern about through the syndicate's recruitment has been happening in Malaysia since the start of worker recruitment in 2022. Excessive immigration costs and the problem of workers not getting work in the last few months have become widespread," the coalition said in a press statement today (20 March).

The coalition urged the government to be aware of the drawbacks associated with sending workers through the syndicate system in light of these recent events. It further called for the government to take necessary steps to prevent such recruitment systems from being repeated in the future, as occurred in 1997 and 2007.

According to various media reports, approximately 100,000 to 200,000 Bangladeshis are currently in Malaysia unemployed, unpaid, or underpaid and in debt, said the coalition.

"We have observed that some syndicate-affiliated recruiting agencies in Bangladesh have sent workers to companies in Malaysia that do not have the capacity to hire workers, and in some cases, no such companies exist," the release read.

Thousands of Bangladeshi workers have paid recruiting agencies lakhs of taka to go to Malaysia and have been waiting for months for visas, said the coalition. In this situation, the recruiting agencies concerned must be held accountable to the government and companies of that country, it demanded.

The coalition urged the Labour Wing of the Bangladesh Embassy in Malaysia to be more vigilant in verifying and approving demand letters from various companies and to establish accountability. At the same time, institutions concerned of both countries must ensure that they take responsibility if workers are cheated, it said.

The press statement mentioned that due to the seriousness of the situation, the Malaysian government has announced that it will stop taking foreign workers from 31 May 2024.

As a result, the problems of Bangladeshi workers losing their jobs, not getting paid, becoming undocumented, and living inhuman lives will increase, the coalition feared. It called on the government to take immediate steps to resolve this issue.

The coalition also demanded bilateral talks for a quick and fair solution to the issue of workers who have lost their jobs, are undocumented, and are living inhuman lives.

The press release was signed by Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants Chairman Tasneem Siddiqui and Co-Chairman Syed Saiful Haque.