Bangladesh-Malaysia labour recruitment and the future of the “G2G+” agreement
The Bangladesh-Malaysia labour migration corridor has experienced several significant
changes in the way in which migrant worker recruitment has been facilitated in recent years. In
2015, partly as a result of structural inefficiencies and constraints in the government to
government (G2G) model of labour recruitment, the governments of Malaysia and Bangladesh
began negotiations to shift to the business to business (B2B), or what has been called a “G2G
Plus” scheme. On February 18th, 2016, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement
was signed to reportedly send 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers over the next 3 years. No more
than 24 hours later, Malaysian authorities announced that Malaysia would not employ any new
foreign workers at all, an effective “freeze” on migrant labour inflows, and that they would
conduct a government review of their foreign worker programme in the meantime.1
Given the new suspension, it is essential to address the grassroots concerns and issues for
Bangladeshi migrant workers with the shift to the new scheme now during this suspension,
especially given the historical context and current reality of Bangladeshi migrant workers in
Malaysia.
Issue
From the civil society perspective, the new business-to-business (B2B), or “G2G+” agreement
proceeds a failed G2G scheme between Bangladesh and Malaysia. The preceding G2G MoU
was signed on November 2012 which launched a state-managed recruitment system.2 The
mechanism did not allow the involvement of third parties, recruitment agencies, or direct
recruitment of workers by the employers, and confined recruitment to the respective public
agencies designated by both Bangladeshi and Malaysian governments. This restored regular
labour migration in this corridor following a 2009 ban on Bangladeshi labour due to
recruitment abuse. The G2G mechanism was a welcome effort by the Bangladeshi government
as it addressed exorbitant recruitment costs charged by private recruitment agencies (and the
debt-related abuse that can ensue), and offered a legal opportunity for labour migration for
Bangladeshis in the context of ongoing irregular, risky migration along the corridor.
While a comprehensive analysis of the G2G’s failure is outside of the scope of this brief, the
G2G has largely been deemed a failure across most civil society stakeholders in Bangladesh
due to its “overpromised and undelivered” end result. That is, the government of Bangladesh
was reported to announce that 50,000 Bangladeshis would be sent to Malaysia during the first
1
The Straits Times. “Malaysia freezes recruitment of all foreign workers including those from Bangladesh”
February 19, 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-freezes-recruitment-of-allforeign-workers-including-those-from-bangladesh.
2
Wickramasekara, Piyasiri (2016). “Review of the government-to-government (G-to-G) mechanism for the
employment of Bangladeshi workers in the Malaysian plantation sector : a report prepared for the International
Labour Organization (ILO).
year, and 100,000 by the following year.3 By January 2013, 1.45 million Bangladeshi workers
registered themselves in an online database to be used for government labour recruitment to
Malaysia, driving negative public opinion that migration opportunities were inadequate
relative to supply when only 0.52 per cent of registrants found employment two and a half
years after the signing of the MOU4. In effect, the new scheme was perceived to have
dramatically reduced the overseas employment opportunities that could have been facilitated
with the involvement of the private sector.
When the concerned governments revisited negotiations in mid-2015, it became evident that
private sector engagement would be introduced in the form of a business-to-business (B2B)
arrangement, or what was soon thereafter dubbed a “G2G+” scheme. Media outlets reported
varying and often conflicting developments regarding the negotiations, and what the deal
would practically mean for migrant workers, even until it was signed in February 2016. This
culminated in a public announcement that 1.5 million Bangladeshis would be able to migrate
for work, across sectors, to Malaysia between 2016 and 2019.
Analysis
The most striking concern regarding this shift in labour recruitment management has been the
lack of transparency in the negotiations, as well as the lack of consultation with civil society.
The new agreement was signed without a full evidence-based evaluation of why the previous
MoU “failed”, putting the legitimacy of private sector involvement in labour recruitment into
question. When signed, the text of the agreement was not released. Without public access, it is
impossible to advance that migrant worker protections have been built into the new
mechanism, nor clearly navigate how exactly the agreement works in practice. It is still unclear
what path the worker would take from Bangladesh to Malaysia, nor how private recruiters
should operate under the new G2G+ scheme. In essence, migrant workers and the support
they receive from civil society in Bangladesh are left in the dark about what the new
agreement actually entails other than the grand promise of 1.5 million Bangladeshis to be sent
abroad. This breeds room for abuse in irregular avenues for labour migration, wherein
miscommunication can enable unscrupulous recruiters and middlemen to recruit and exploit
aspiring migrants under the guise of a new legitimate avenue.
On the subject of irregular migration, civil society had already documented that migrants and
local people alike had considered the “slow and apparently futile G2G ‘recruitment’” as an
important factor pushing Bangladeshis to take irregular and often dangerous routes to migrate
3
Free Malaysia Today News. “Bangladesh hopes to send 500000 workers to Malaysia”. Retrieved from:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/06/25/bangladesh-hopes-to-send-500000- workers-tomsia/
4 Wickramasekara, Piyasiri (2016). “Review of the government-to-government (G-to-G) mechanism for the
employment of Bangladeshi workers in the Malaysian plantation sector : a report prepared for the International
Labour Organization (ILO).
to Malaysia (OKUP, 2015)5. The limitation of the G2G system had to some extent contributed
to development of irregular migration through sea route, a serious concern which resulted
more undocumented migrants in Malaysia working without legal status. For this reason,
among others, it is doubtful if recruiting 1.5 million workers to Malaysia is necessary at all.
In this context, public pressure in Malaysia mounted with concerns of the local labour market
flooding with excess cheap labour (driving down wages), and growing local xenophobic and
racist sentiments towards migrant workers. This could be one contributing factor explaining
why the government of Malaysia effectively reversed its decision to bring 1.5 million
Bangladeshis under the G2G+ MoU, only one day after it was signed. The lack of justification to
bring more workers was confirmed by the Malaysian government’s announcement that such a
freeze of intake of foreign labour, and that a full review of labour market needs would be
conducted during the suspension.
What’s next?
During the current freeze, it is imperative that the government of Bangladesh establishes clear
and transparent public communication regarding Bangladeshi migration to Malaysia, including
risks of pursuing irregular avenues for employment. There is confusion among migrant workers
who have heard conflicting information through media outlets on if and when labour
recruitment of such large flows will take place. The government of Bangladesh should take this
opportunity to consult with civil society, as well as other concerned stakeholders, to both
inform and learn from their expertise on how migrant worker rights and protections are
prioritized within any formal labour recruitment going forward. If the freeze is lifted and the
G2G+ takes effect, public access to the text of the agreement must be made readily available.
It is also recommended that the government of Malaysia aligns its recruitment plans with
transparent and rights-based regularization programmes for undocumented workers in
Malaysia. Ad-hoc and reactive policy making should be replaced with a comprehensive
evaluation of previous and existing foreign worker policies alongside civil society consultations
in both Malaysia and Bangladesh.
5
Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), 2015. Sailing to Malaysia: desperation of fortune seekers.
http://okup.org.bd/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Sailing-to-Malaysia_desperation-of-fortune-seekers.pdf