Plantation Employment In Sarawak
BMET takes consent of selected workers for Malaysian jobs
Hundreds of selected workers for Malaysian jobs started submitting ‘consent papers’ to the manpower bureau office at Kakrail to get employment in plantation sector in Sarawak province of Malaysia, said officials. The workers were gathering at the bureau after getting SMS from Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training that asked for attending BMET briefing and submitting their consent papers for proposed jobs in Sarawak province, they said.
Early this month, Malaysian prime minister Najib Tun Razak had said 12,000 Bangladeshi workers would arrive in Sarawak early next year to meet the shortfall of 62,000 workers in the plantation sector.
If they could fit in well, the Malaysian government could consider bringing in more Bangladeshi workers in the future, Malaysian media reported quoting Najib.
Officials in Dhaka said that the selected workers, who would agree to work in Sarawak province, would be kept ready to send them to Malaysia after receiving visas from Malaysian authorities.
BMET decided to primarily call some 10,000 workers who had been selected by lotteries in the second phase for employment in Malaysia about two years ago, they said.
Harun Mia, a selected worker for Malaysian job coming from Natore, told New Age that he took part in BMET briefing and submitted his consent paper to the office for a job in Sarawak.
Having selected by lottery and completed his medical check-up, he and his family have been eagerly waiting for 18 months for a job in Malaysia, he said.
Mizanur Rahman, another selected worker from Moulavibazar, said that he was happy after getting SMS from the bureau seeking his consent for job in Sarawak.
He, however, expressed frustration over long delay in visa processing as the selected workers from the first phase have not yet left for Malaysia in last two years.
The workers would be sent to Sarawak province under a migration cost of Tk 30,000 and they would get monthly wage of 800 ringgit (BDT 20,000) under two year contact.
BMET officials working in the Malaysia cell told New Age that they have already received consents of about 3,500 workers willing to work in Sarawak from among the 10,000 workers selected in the second phase.
They said that the selected workers who would not agree to go to work in Sarawak, would be kept waiting for selection for jobs in other parts of Malaysia.
According to BMET, Malaysia has been recruiting workers from Bangladesh for its plantation sector through government-to-government arrangement under an agreement signed in November 2012.
A total of 6,042 workers out of selected 10,000 workers in first phase have so far left for Malaysia for plantation jobs, said BMET officials.
-With New Age input
