Malaysia-bound workers to start departing in first week of Nov

Bangladeshi workers are expected to begin flying to Malaysia in the first week of November, with medical examinations for prospective migrants due to start on 31 October.

The government is working with the Malaysian authorities to finalise the list of approved medical centres and the costs of sending workers, State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque said on Wednesday.

"We hope flights will begin on 1 November or in the first week of November. Workers will be able to leave within a few days of completing their medical examinations," he told reporters after an immigration dialogue organised by Witness Foundation at a hotel in Dhaka.

Nurul Haque said Malaysia had told Bangladesh it would announce its decision and publish the final list of approved medical centres by 31 October. Both countries will publish their lists of registered centres on their respective websites.

The medical examination fee will be fixed after a meeting on Wednesday, while overall migration costs are expected to be clear in November, he added.

Sending a worker through the state-owned Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) is estimated to cost Tk1.55-1.60 lakh. Costs for workers recruited through private agencies will be determined after consultations and estimates, the state minister said.

In a separate notice issued on Wednesday, the ministry said workers must undergo medical examinations only at authorised centres, whose list will be published on its website. Tests conducted before 31 October will not be accepted or processed for immigration clearance, it said, and no medical centre or recruiting agency may conduct or arrange examinations without official approval.

The ministry said it had received reports that some brokers and unscrupulous agencies were trying to collect passports and money from workers by promising to arrange unauthorised medical examinations. It urged prospective migrants not to respond to such offers, nor to hand over passports or money before verifying the approval status of the medical centre and agency concerned.

Medical centres violating the directives could be shut down, while recruiting agencies could have their overseas recruitment activities suspended and their approvals revoked, the ministry warned.

Workers have been asked to report unauthorised examinations or related activities, providing the date, location, names of those involved and supporting evidence, to [email protected].

The government announced last Thursday that recruitment of Bangladeshi workers for Malaysia would resume, following an in-principle agreement by the Malaysian authorities to take 10,000 workers at no cost to them. Malaysia has also agreed to include 338 Bangladeshi recruiting agencies, comprising BOESL and private agencies approved by Bangladesh.

The move follows a prolonged suspension of recruitment, which had left many prospective migrants waiting for an opportunity to enter the Malaysian labour market.

The government is now working to finalise medical procedures, recruitment arrangements and migration costs before workers begin travelling.