Manpower sub-agents must have licences as per amended law

The sub-agents or intermediaries of manpower recruitment agencies will have to be registered with authorities concerned for sending workers abroad, according to an amendment to the relevant law.
"A recruiting agent will appoint any registered person as a sub-agent or representative, in the manner prescribed by the Rules," says the newly enacted Overseas Employment and Migrants (Amendment) Act, 2023.
The duties and responsibilities of the sub-agent or representative shall be prescribed by the law, it adds.
Besides, considering the seriousness of the crime of manpower recruiters, the government can suspend their licences without or during investigation and hearing.
The government recently issued the gazette on the amendments to the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013.
For example, sending workers abroad by the recruiting agencies without job security that may result in a significant number returning home would be considered serious crime, said an official at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).
For defaults such as obtaining a licence based on false information, violating any condition of the licence and not renewing it on time, the government can impose a fine of minimum Tk 50,000 and maximum Tk 200,000 by providing an appropriate investigation and hearing opportunity to the recruiting agency.
The officials also said that the government is now planning to enact necessary rules based on the newly amended act. The rules are likely to be drafted by December this year, they added.
When asked, an official familiar with the development said the rules would clarify whether the sub-agents would be registered under the government agencies concerned or recruiters. Or, how many of the sub-agents can be registered under one recruiter?
The rules will specify whether a sub-agent can be registered under more than one recruiter. Usually, hundreds of sub-agents work under a recruiting agency.
Meanwhile, migrant rights activists said the law needs to be enforced. This law should be introduced to the workers because the number of cases under this law is still very low.
Jasiya Khatoon, director of the WARBE Development Foundation, stated: "The initiative to register sub-agents is a good one. However, if all the sub-agents are not registered, it will not bring full benefits. That means fraud cannot be stopped in this sector."

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