A spokesman for the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) said all recruitment agencies with a valid licence should be allowed to process prospective workers.

“The market should be open for all licenced recruitment agencies. This would prevent any form of syndicate operating where privileges are only given to certain agencies,” Shameem Noman said at a press conference in Dhaka today.

He added that the association’s main interest was the welfare of workers, who should have the right to freely choose which agency to go with.

“Through an open market policy for recruitment, the cost of recruitment would be lower and the financial burden on workers will also be reduced,” he said.

Shameem also called for all recruitment expenses to be borne by Malaysian employers.

Malaysia and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour recruitment in December last year.

But the secrecy shrouding the MoU has led to fears of syndicates and debt bondage imposed on workers due to high recruitment fees.

A total of 25 Bangladeshi recruitment agencies and 250 sub-agencies have reportedly been approved for labour intake.