Is Brunei a blessing destination for Bangladeshi migrants?
Brunei--one of the richest states in the world presumed as a dream country for many migrant workers including Bangladeshis to earn a lot and settle. A small country situated on the northern shore of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea and surrounded by Malaysia, Brunei hosts more than 100,000 foreign workers, among which 30 percent are Bangladeshi. According to BMET in May 2021, more than 75,000 Bangladeshi workers went to Brunei as overseas workers in construction and petrochemical industries. However, the unofficial sources voted on double in the number of migrant workers--who remain undocumented for many years. There is also a misconception among the Bangladeshi workers that, 'Brunei is the gateway to migrate European countries and easy to settle in Malaysia' once they get the permission for entry, which is not entirely a true. Rather, the country keep themselves in strong position against undocumented foreigners and deported thousands foreigners in recent years. Although there is no formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or Bilateral Agreements (BLAs) between Bangladesh and Brunei government, the recruitment of overseas employment granted through some joint venture agencies or brokers. It assumed that, there are more than 3,000 companies or brokers in Brunei owned by Bangladeshis and who recruits Bangladeshi workers, however less than one or two percent of these companies are legitimate to do so. The Bangladesh High commission in Bandar Seri Begawan of Brunei reported in 2018 that, about 75% of Bangladeshi workers migrated to Brunei illegally by the some brokers in collaboration with immigration police at the airport through so-called 'Body Contract'. Though there is no official record, each migrant charged 3-4 lakh taka [Brunei Dollar(BND)4,500 to BND 6,300] for their entry to Brunei, which is excessively higher for a migrant worker to recover from an informal job with monthly salary of taka 15,000 to taka 25,000 (BND 230 to BND 400). Though it is a small country ruled by Sultan, yet the country has demand for skilled workers, including tile fixers, electricians, gas welders, paramedics, nurses, agriculture workers, fishermen, caterers, petro-chemists, engineers, landscapers and maintenance workers. Apparently in Brunei, the wages of the skilled workers are far higher than those of the unskilled or low skilled ones. Unfortunately, Bangladesh rarely could send skill workers to Brunei and earn less remittance. According to Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei, thousands of Bangladeshi workers complained on the illegal visa trading or body contract against some unauthorized Bangladesh-Brunei joint ventured overseas recruitment companies or brokers who charges higher and even blackmailing them for years. Serious labour exploitation including monthly commission demand of brokers and charges higher migration cost on individuals, issuance of fake BMET card and even pursue for illegal entry from airport etc. kept Brunei in Tier 2 Watch list of UN TIP report 2019. From different sources including the Bangladesh High Commission, there are 16 Bangladeshi in three prisons of Brunei, where the majority of them accused for involvement with illegal visa trading or being undocumented. Those who lives in Brunei as legal worker also lives in misery. Regrettably, these disastrous workers remain out of list to receive any welfare benefits from the Bangladesh government and wage earners welfare board--as majority of them do not have any authentic BMET clearance or smart card. Manpower shortage in Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei also interrupt to organize regular briefing for migrant workers to aware on host country's laws and migrants rights issues. In recent years it has been observed that, Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei has taken a number of initiatives to protect the rights of Bangladeshi workers and students and efforts to build good network with them through organizing different cultural and get together programs including national Days observation, Nababorsho and Eid celebration, and honouring remittance sender on occasion of International Migrant Day. The High Commissioner also paid regular visit to different prisons to learn the condition of accused Bangladeshis and extended supports to provide legal aids and counselling. Though Brunei is a small country, it has strong economy which is grounded on its natural resources and hence half of the country's GDP depends on the export of crude oil and natural gas. For its major economic sector, Brunei largely depends on the skill foreign workers- only for short periods with the opportunity to renew. It usually pay higher wages to skilled workers in compare to low skilled or semi-skilled ones. However, the country has the current demand to recruit more than 10,000 skilled workers in different sectors including petrochemical industry and construction projects. Therefore, to grasp the opportunity to send demand driven skilled workers and earn more remittances, Bangladesh needs to take some measures immediately including: provide country specific training to outbound migrant workers, provide demand driven trade wise technical and vocational training, sign MoUs and BLAs to regularize the migration, create online database for migrants, negotiate with money exchange or Banks to reduce the remittance transfer cost, upgrade the grievance or complaint lodging system and redress mechanism, and educate migrants on their personal and economic safety. The writer is migration analyst and development activist