Bangladesh's overseas-employment sector was hit hard by the closure of the Malaysian manpower market with the overall outflow of workers falling more than 58 per cent in June from the previous month under its impact, official data showed.
The number of workers having migrated from Bangladesh stood at 55,045 in June as compared to 131,696 in May, according to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) statistics, clearly reflecting the adverse impact of the closure of Malaysian market since May 31 this year.
As many as 47,809 workers went to Malaysia in May before the Southeast-Asian nation stopped receiving workers from different countries, including Bangladesh.
Malaysia was the second -largest labour market for Bangladesh after Saudi Arabia. The country had hired 20,000 to 40,000 workers every month since the opening of its market for Bangladesh.
A substantial number of workers failed to reach the job- destination country by the deadline of May 3, 2024 due to mismanagement in the process of sending workers.
According to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, a total of 16,970 workers with BMET clearance were unable to go to Malaysia within the timeline.
Ali Haider Chowdhury, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), says it is obvious that the closure of Malaysia would affect the labour migration to such an important market.
"As Malaysia closed its door for Bangladeshi workers, we should look for other potential markets," he says, adding that there is a demand for workers in Europe and initiatives should be taken to send workers there.
About the reopening of the Malaysian market, he said it would be clear after the Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between Malaysia and Bangladesh scheduled for later this month.
Manpower recruiters also think that the total number of overseas employment also will show a declining trend at the end of this year because of the closure of the Malaysian market.
Bangladesh sent a record 1.3 million workers abroad in 2023 and the government set a target to send 1.2 million workers in 2024.
Sector insiders said that the outflow of workers would decline significantly this year-an unwelcome foreboding when the country looks hard-up on foreign-exchange front.
Some 508,978 workers found jobs abroad in the first six months of the current calendar year.
Of the total, Saudi Arabia hired 254,016 workers in the January-June period, followed by Malaysia 92,685, the United Arab Emirates 33,465, and Singapore 25,998, the official statistics showed.
The number of jobs abroad for Bangladeshi workers was 617,576 in the first six months of 2023.
Shakirul Islam, chairman of the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme, emphasised the need for quality migration, rather than the number of employment, for Bangladeshi outbound workers.
He notes that there have always been various problems with the Malaysian market. "So, fair migration should be ensured before opening the market again."
Manpower export is a major earner of foreign currencies for the country, after the export of readymade garments.
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