Malaysia-bound workers protest in Karwan Bazar

Staff Reporter :

Workers who could not travel to Malaysia staged a protest at Sonargaon intersection in the capital’s Karwan Bazar. This caused severe traffic congestion in the area, creating suffering for the general public.

At 10 am on Sunday, they began blocking the road at the Karwan Bazar SAARC Fountain area. Around one thousand workers, who failed to travel to Malaysia, gathered in the protest.

After receiving assurances from the authorities, they withdrew the blockade at 11:40 am. Leaving the road, the protesters moved to the park opposite the Sonargaon Hotel.

Meanwhile, a large number of law enforcement personnel were deployed around the protest.

The protesters said they were among the 18,000 workers who could not travel within the deadline set by the Malaysian authorities-May 31, 2024.
At the time, they raised five demands: Those whose e-visas were issued before May 31 but did not receive clearance from BMET, and those who completed all the processes, must be sent to Malaysia immediately.
No worker should be left out of the process, whether or not there is a new interview.

A specific date must be announced urgently, and a written memorandum must be provided.

That memorandum should be formally submitted through the Chief Adviser and the Expatriates’ Welfare Adviser.

If it is not possible to send the workers within the announced date, the government must immediately arrange alternative employment and provide compensation.

One of the protesters, Faisal Sikder, said: “The government had said we would be sent to Malaysia without any cost. BOESL gave us 15 days of training in different TTCs. We all left our jobs and took the training. Two days later, BOESL called us asking if we could pay Tk70,000 to Tk80,000.
We had already paid Tk600,000 to the agency. Still, we agreed to pay. A week later, BOESL informed us that the cost would be Tk162,000. Then what kind of benefit is this under a government scheme?”