PETALING JAYA: A total of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers will be arriving in the country over the next three years, with women from that country joining the workforce, too.

“The Bangladeshis will be allowed to work in the service, manufacturing and construction sectors, instead of being confined to the plantation sector, as is the current practice.

The new agreement to bring in the workers will be signed within a month.

The “G2G (Government-to-Government) Plus” deal will recognise Bangladesh as a “source country”, which would enable Bangladeshi women to be employed in Malaysia.

Bangladesh’s Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam, who briefed reporters in Dhaka, said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed, rendering the previous agreements of 2012 and 2014 void.

The draft agreement, which was approved on Monday, would enable private firms to send workers to Malaysia through arrangement with the Bangladeshi government.

He was quoted in the Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star as saying the maximum expatriation cost for each worker would be RM1,985 which would be borne by the employers.

“Malaysians employers will also have to pay for workers’ security deposits, levies, visa fees, health and compensation insurance,” he said, adding that there would be no interference from middlemen, as Malaysia would ensure job security and also verify the capacities of employers taking in the workers.

Bangladesh’s Bureau of Manpower Employment would compile the data on workers while the Bangladeshi mission in Kuala Lumpur would confirm the workers’ appointment letters.

“The workers will be recruited for an initial period of three years which can be extended,” he said.

Although a minimum wage has not be fixed for the Bangladeshi workers yet, a Joint Working Group would be set up to monitor and protect the workers’ rights and interests.

Only 10,000 Bangladeshi workers were sent to Malaysia under the previous G2G when it was launched in 2012.

There are about 600,000 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia.-thestar