G2G plus agreement
Second batch of workers leaves for Kuala Lumpur
RAFIQUL ISLAM AZAD
The second batch of Bangladeshi workers comprising 128 left Dhaka for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last night by two flights under Government to Government (G2G) Plus agreement signed between the two countries.
With this, a total of 226 workers have so far gone to Malaysia in two batches under the G2G Plus agreement signed on February 18 last year.
Earlier on Friday, the first batch of 98 workers went to Malaysia through online system, first of its kind to avert malpractices.
Secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Ruhul Amin Swapan said 70 more workers would be flown to Kuala Lumpur on March 20 in the third batch.
He expects around 700 workers would go to Kuala Lumpur by this month as the G2G Plus agreement opened the labour market in Malaysia, the second biggest manpower market for Bangladesh after about eight years.
The BAIRA leader said the G2G Plus agreement opened a new horizon in the manpower business and give a fillip to the economy of the country.
A worker is going to Malaysia with a three-year valid visa and he would be able to renew visa for two more years. A worker would be able to extend his work permit for another five year if the employer retains his services, according to BAIRA sources.
According to agreement each worker under the G2G Plus scheme would get at least 1,000 RM (equivalent to around Tk. 18,000) as salary per month for eight hours of daily work. Besides, a worker would be allowed to work overtime, if feasible.
In addition, a worker will have insurance coverage and receive free accommodation facilities from the employers, the sources added.
Asked about the reason and criterion to select only 10 recruiting agencies to send workers in Malaysia, a BAIRA official preferring anonymity said the process has been
initiated with those who have better track records. Malaysian government assured us that the number of recruiting agencies will increase when the recruitment will be increasing, he said.
Sources in the ministry also said though 10 recruiting agencies are involved in sending workers to Kuala Lumpur on a pilot basis, 300 to 350 agencies would gradually join the process.
The government has fixed Tk 37,000 for sending a worker. However, sources in the recruiting agency said they would send each worker for a reasonable amount of money, a sum that would be less than the migration cost of other countries.
Under the G2G Plus agreement, the Malaysian employers will recruit Bangladeshi workers in different sectors including construction, plantation, and manufacturing and service sectors.
In January last, Malaysian employers started issuing demand letters to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to hire Bangladeshi workers under the G2G Plus agreement.
The Malaysian government had stopped hiring Bangladeshi workers in 2009 after the influx of a large number of illegal workers between 2007 and 2008.
Sources in the ministry said a team of Malaysian employers has already arrived Dhaka to take interview of workers who will be going to Malaysia later on.
