Employers in Malaysia obligated to provide a commitment letter for the employment of Bangladeshi workers
Olive Goh, 12 June 2023
12 June 2023 – The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has introduced a new measure to ensure responsible hiring of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia. Najmus Sadat Salim, the Minister (Labour) of the Bangladesh High Commission, signed a notice on June 9th, indicating the implementation of these changes based on guidelines from the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment of Bangladesh.
As a result, employers in Malaysia who hire Bangladeshi workers are now obligated to submit a notarized and Ministry of Foreign Affairs-approved commitment letter.
A prescribed format of the commitment letter was shared by the Bangladesh High Commission, Malaysia, outlining the expectations for Malaysian employers when employing Bangladeshi workers. The commitments listed in the letter template include ensuring sufficient work for the allocated workers, providing proper reception upon their arrival, confirming their reception through official email upon receiving flight information, offering good accommodation, initiating work promptly after completing necessary procedures, preventing idle time for workers upon arrival, ensuring regular monthly salary payments, and complying with Malaysian government regulations and employment contract terms.
According to a report by Daily Sun, the Malaysian government has approved the recruitment of 427,759 workers, with 357,328 of them being Bangladeshi workers, as confirmed by the Bangladesh High Commission as of June 2nd. Currently, 163,403 workers have already arrived in Malaysia, while 193,925 verified workers are awaiting departure from Dhaka.
