Lotteries to shortlist workers aspiring to migrate to Malaysia from Dhaka and Barisal divisions will be held at the respective deputy commissioners’ offices today, said Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training officials on Tuesday.
They said another round of lotteries for final selection of the workers would be held Thursday at the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry.
There are 1,349 unions in Dhaka division and 385 in Barisal, where the workers were registered on January 13 to 15, BMET director Nurul Islam told New Age.
According to BMET database, 316,809 aspirant migrant workers – 259,116 in Dhaka division and 57,693 in Barisal – have been registered till 5:00pm on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, there have been allegations that some information service providers in collaboration with the chairmen of many unions charged Tk 200 to 600 instead of the government-set Tk 50 as registration fee.
Although the government has set the registration fee at Tk 50, the chairman and his accomplices exacted Tk 200 from the applicants, alleged an aspirant migrant of Dobipathor village in Halimpur union under Bajitpur upazila.
When asked, Halimpur Union Parishad chairman Moinuddin Ahmed told New Age that they took Tk 50 for a registration form and Tk 100 as service charge from every applicant.
A number of people filed allegations with the BMET that accomplices of the UP chairmen of Shibchar Sadar and Charjatanjat of Madaripur district exacted Tk 600 from every applicant for registration.
It has also been alleged that the chairman of Doayel UP under Sarishabari upazila of Jamalpur closed the registration work at 12:30pm on Tuesday, leaving many aspirants out.
BMET director general Begum Shamsun Nahar told New Age on Monday that they had received some complaints about overcharging the job-seekers and Access to Information Project officials would take steps in this connection.
Registration of workers in Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Sylhet divisions starts today at union information service centres and will continue till January 18, BMET officials said.
The aspirant migrants can get themselves registered between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays. But, as January 18 is Friday, the registration will start at 8:00am with a break from 12:30pm to 2:30pm for the jumma prayers.
The lotteries for short-listing applicants of these divisions will be held at DC offices on January 19.
A total of 34,500 workers will be short-listed across the country through the first round of lotteries and 11,500 of them will be selected finally through the second round according to union and demographic quotas, said BMET director Nurul Islam.