Contractor licenses are misused to aid foreign worker syndicates, says source

PETALING JAYA | Company licenses are abused in various sectors, including construction, which is believed to be a tactic to bring in workers from source countries, especially Bangladesh.

According to a source, certain groups were using valid contractor licenses issued by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to facilitate the recruitment of foreign workers for “non-existent” vacancies, especially in the construction sector.

According to FMT, the source said that the higher the value of the project, the more workers they can bring in, even though the jobs don’t exist.

According to the source, the activity was only uncovered when one of the businesses involved failed to deliver a list of its employees on time.

“Most of them have a connection with syndicates in Bangladesh, which receive payments of up to RM20,000 for each foreign worker.”

According to Papsma, the National Association of Private Recruitment Agencies, an employer with a CIDB license was responsible for bringing the workers into the country.

General Kelvin Cheong, Papsma secretary said that the company’s tactic had been brought to the attention of the human resources ministry following numerous cases of foreign workers being left without jobs.

He continues by saying that since recruitment agencies and syndicates charged lesser fees, Malaysia remained a popular destination for Bangladeshi migrants.

He claimed that many Bangladeshis were eager to take on debt in an attempt to turn around their circumstances as a result of the government’s policy of encouraging its people to go overseas by providing special loans.

It would cost them RM50,000 each to work in Australia, and the same goes for the Arab countries and it can reach up to RM80,000 depending on the type of work involved. Hence, they chose Malaysia since it’s the cheapest.

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