DHAKA, 12 April 2004 — Bangladesh has given recruiting agents 20 days to slash their recruitment fees for overseas jobs or face suspension of their licenses.
Fees for jobs in Saudi Arabia shot up to between 150,000 and 170,000 taka recently.
The Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment called a group of leading recruiting agencies and told them to bring down the fees to under 100,000 taka.
The rate for visa advice in the unofficial market increased to as much as SR6,000. The government has asked recruiters not to buy advice for more than SR3,500.
The president of Bangladesh Agencies of International Recruiting Agents (BAIRA) Mosharraf Hossain, urged State Minister for Expatriates Welfare Mohammad Quamrul Islam to give the agencies two months to cut their fees, sources said in Dhaka yesterday.
But the minister refused saying agencies had enough time since the ministry last warned them. He added the issue had repeatedly been raised in the Cabinet and Parliament. He said the high charges were denting the country’s image, as many workers faced hardship despite having spent a lot of money and many came home bankrupt.
The government recently repatriated 36 Bangladeshis from Iran who were sent to Jordan by a recruiting agency promising them jobs in garment factories and charging them between 150,000 and 220,000 taka.
Over 150,000 workers go to Saudi Arabia every year and send more than 60 percent of Bangladesh’s overseas remittances. Most Bangladeshi job seekers are unskilled and work as cleaners, drivers, shopkeepers, construction laborers and domestic workers. Saudi Arabia is the biggest importer of manpower from Bangladesh.
