The High Commission of Bangladesh in Brunei on Wednesday urged the recruiting agencies to ensure that Bangladeshi citizens are not subjected to indignity, exploitation, coercion, and hazardous work conditions anywhere.
This was conveyed when the Bangladesh Commission briefed the employment agencies in Brunei on the latest migration policy-stand of Bangladesh from the perspective of Brunei, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
In the opening remarks, the High Commissioner Sumona Iqbal said that Bangladesh strives to ensure that Bangladeshi nationals have a decent and dignified work environment in Brunei.
“We must ensure that our citizens are not subjected to indignity, exploitation, coercion, and hazardous work conditions anywhere.”
Emphasizing the need for rule-based migration, the high commissioner added that despite Brunei's excellent labour laws and the high efforts of the law enforcement agencies, there are still many glaring examples of the violation of labour laws.
She also mentioned that dead bodies are rotting in the Ripas morgue for months together, and no parties take responsibility for repatriating the bodies.
Reiterating the government's commitment to curbing labour exploitation and human trafficking, the high commissioner said, "whichever entities recruit our nationals, they must treat our citizens well and respect their fundamental human rights."
In the briefing session, the Counsellor (Labour) of the mission, Jelal Hossain, outlined a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for recruiting human resources from Bangladesh.
The SOP requires employment agencies as well as employers to comply with a set of terms and conditions for bringing human resources from Bangladesh. Once the SOP comes into being, no employer in Brunei can get workers from Bangladesh without going through the employment agencies registered with Bangladesh High Commission.
Furthermore, the SOP forbids employers to use their existing workers as manpower brokers and visa traders. Referring to the high cost of migration of Bangladeshi workers to Brunei, the Counsellor said that if any company wants to recruit a workforce from Bangladesh, it must bear the expenses of visa and air tickets.
He mentioned that employment agencies in Brunei and Bangladesh also have specific responsibilities until expatriate workers return home.
The SOP holds all parties responsible for safe, ethical, and low-cost migration.
The mission plans to implement the SOP as soon as possible.
The High Commission will float a contract agreement to interested employment agencies for signing.
About 45 employment agencies registered in Brunei participated in the briefing session.
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