Refund money to workers who missed Malaysian deadline
Staff Reporter :
The State Minister for the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury, has issued a directive mandating that recruiting agencies refund the money of workers who were unable to travel to Malaysia by the stipulated deadline.
During a discussion meeting in the ministry’s conference room on Thursday, the state minister set a clear deadline for these refunds.
According to the directive, all affected workers must receive their refunds by July 18, 2024, which is within the next 15 days.
State Minister Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury stated, “The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) leaders have agreed with us that workers who could not travel to Malaysia will have their money refunded.
This agreement was reached in a meeting held yesterday in the capital.”
The minister emphasised the ministry’s commitment to ensuring that these refunds are processed within the stipulated timeframe. “We are closely monitoring the situation to see how many refunds are processed by the deadline.
If the agencies fail to comply, we will take the necessary actions against those responsible,” he warned.
Shafiqur Rahman revealed that an investigation by a probe body identified 100 recruiting agencies involved in facilitating the migration of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia. According to the Malaysian government’s mandate, foreign workers were required to enter the country by May 31, 2024.
However, a total of 17,777 Bangladeshi workers missed this deadline, with 4.76 lakh out of 5,32,162 workers successfully completing their journey to Malaysia.
Additionally, 2,025 of the 17,777 workers who failed to meet the deadline have lodged complaints with the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry.
“The primary goal of our ministry is to ensure that workers who cannot go to Malaysia receive their refunds.
We are committed to holding agencies accountable and will take appropriate measures to ensure compliance,” added Shafiqur Rahman.
