Malaysia has agreed to recruit 10,000 Bangladeshi workers initially under a free-of-cost migration arrangement, Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said on Sunday.
The decision comes after a prolonged suspension of worker recruitment from Bangladesh to the Malaysian labour market.
The minister said the workers would first be trained according to the requirements of Malaysian employers, who would then come to Bangladesh to select candidates themselves.
“The Malaysian employers will specify their requirements first, and we will train workers accordingly,” he told a press conference at the Secretariat.
The government plans to give priority to skills rather than simply sending workers abroad, the minister said, warning that untrained workers could face harassment and other difficulties after reaching Malaysia.
He said the initial 10,000 workers would be sent free of charge, after which recruitment would be carried out based on demand from Malaysian employers through Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Ltd (BOESL) and other authorised recruiting agencies.
However, the process has yet to begin fully, as several procedural issues remain unresolved.
The minister said the medical examination process for the workers had not yet been approved. The next steps will be taken after Malaysia confirms its manpower requirements and other related issues, he added.
The government will also involve private authorised recruiting agencies alongside BOESL, but the recruitment and deployment procedures must first be finalised.
The previous recruitment of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia was marred by allegations of syndication and widespread harassment of workers.
The government is now seeking to avoid a repeat of those problems by making recruitment demand-driven and placing greater emphasis on skills and transparency, the minister said.
Under the proposed system, Malaysian employers will select workers directly in Bangladesh after assessing candidates trained to meet their specific requirements.
The minister also announced plans to launch an Employment Exchange Centre this year to boost job opportunities within the country.
The centre will create an online and offline database matching jobseekers with manpower requirements of industries. The government also plans to identify jobseekers through job and career fairs at colleges and universities.
A wage board will also be formed by the end of this month after consultations with relevant stakeholders, the minister said.