BOESL to send 10,000 workers to Malaysia at zero migration cost

Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), the only state-owned manpower recruiting agency under the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, has taken an initiative to send a total of 10,000 workers to Malaysia at zero migration cost.

The programme will be implemented in phases, subject to receiving job demands from employers.

As part of the initiative, the final selection process for recruiting 112 Bangladeshi male workers for renowned Malaysian company DHL Supply Chain (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. began on Thursday (November 12). BOESL Managing Director Mohammad Rashedul Haque disclosed the information at a press briefing held at the organisation’s office in the morning.

At the briefing, the managing director said Malaysia is Bangladesh’s second-largest labour market. In line with the current government’s election manifesto to create more overseas employment opportunities, BOESL has been working relentlessly to ensure safe, ethical and skilled migration at low or zero migration costs.

He said the highest importance was being given to transparency, impartiality and professional qualifications at every stage of the recruitment process.

Elaborating on the recruitment process, Mohammad Rashedul Haque said a job demand letter was received from Malaysia’s DHL Supply Chain on November 2. Following this, a recruitment notice was published online on November 5.

A total of 4,029 applications were submitted between 10:00am on November 6 and 4:00pm on November 8. Subsequently, to ensure equal opportunities and complete transparency, 300 candidates were initially selected for two positions through an online software-based lottery on the afternoon of November 8. Of them, 200 were selected for the post of Operations Assistant and 100 for Technical Skilled Worker.

Of the 300 initially selected candidates, 112 will be chosen finally after assessing their professional skills, practical capabilities and suitability for the respective positions.

A nine-member delegation from Malaysia has arrived in Bangladesh to conduct the selection process. The delegation will conduct practical tests and interviews in person from November 12 to 15.

BOESL will not interfere in the selection process, and candidates chosen by the employer will be considered final, the managing director said.

He further said the recruitment programme was being conducted entirely at zero migration cost under government arrangements. The Malaysian recruiting company will bear all government-prescribed migration-related expenses for the selected workers.

BOESL will not charge any migration cost or service fee from either the recruiting company or the workers. In other words, “zero means zero”.

The authorities warned that strict legal action would be taken against brokers, middlemen or unauthorised individuals if they attempted to collect money at any stage of the recruitment process. Candidates involved in unethical financial transactions would also face action, subject to evidence.

Candidates have also been specifically requested to refrain from any kind of financial transaction related to the recruitment process.

Speaking at the briefing, the managing director said, “Our goal is to ensure that no qualified and capable person is deprived of overseas employment opportunities due to a lack of money. One of the main objectives of this initiative is to ensure that an ordinary worker gets the opportunity to work abroad based on their labour, skills and qualifications.”

Finally, gratitude and thanks were expressed to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, State Minister Md Nurul Haque, Adviser Mahdi Amin, Ministry Secretary Md Mokhtar Ahmed, relevant government departments, officials of the Bangladesh High Commission, the Malaysian recruiting company and media personnel for their cooperation in implementing the initiative.

BOESL hopes the initiative will become a milestone in ensuring safe and dignified migration at zero cost.