A joint working group meeting between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur will be held next month to discuss reopening the Malaysian labour market for Bangladeshi workers, said State Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury.
Following a meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner to Dhaka Haznah Md Hashim in the city on Thursday, the state minister briefed journalists at his Probashi Kalyan Bhaban office.
Malaysia stopped receiving workers from its source countries, including Bangladesh, on 31 May this year. For Bangladesh, it was a massive blow since Malaysia was the second-largest labour market after Saudi Arabia.
The Malaysia closure brought the overall worker outflow down by more than 58 per cent in June, according to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training data.
The Southeast Asian country hired between 20,000 and 40,000 workers every month since opening its doors to Bangladeshi workers.
By the 31 May deadline, thousands of Malaysia-bound Bangladeshi workers failed to fly thanks to mismanagement.
According to the expatriates' welfare ministry, about 17,000 workers with BMET clearance were unable to go to Malaysia by the deadline.
State Minister Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury said recruitment agencies had informed the ministry that about 70 per cent of those affected had been refunded so far.
"We have asked the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) to sign agreements with workers who will be paid," he said. "The documents of these agreements must be sent to the ministry. Then we will know exactly how many workers have received money."
"So I cannot say exactly how many workers have received money now. Legal action will be taken against recruiting agencies if full refunds are not made," Mr Choudhury said.
He said the government is working to create new jobs and develop skilled manpower.
In response to a media query, he said he had written a letter to the Malaysian government about workers who failed to reach their job destinations.
About 1.0 million Bangladeshis are working in Malaysia. Bangladeshi migrants from that job market sent $1.02 billion in FY2022 and $1.12 billion in FY2023, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
Regarding the jailing of Bangladeshis in the United Arab Emirates, the state minister said he had briefed the media on Wednesday.
"I say again, workers should be aware of the laws of destination countries. By protesting in Dubai, expatriates are defying the law and spoiling the image of Bangladesh. For this, they have been punished for various periods. We will not interfere with convicted expatriates."
"It is a matter for that Gulf state," he added.
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