Maldives halts recruiting Bangladeshi workers amid fake document allegations

The Maldives, the only labour migration destination for Bangladeshi workers in South Asia, has suspended the recruitment of low-skilled workers from Bangladesh.

This comes amid allegations of illegal recruitment practices involving fake documents submitted by some Maldivian companies in collaboration with Bangladeshi middlemen and agencies.

Fathimath Rifaath, spokesperson for the Maldivian home ministry, confirmed the suspension, which began a month ago. Sun Online, a Maldivian news outlet, reported that the move stemmed from the discovery of companies recruiting workers with forged documents.

An investigation is currently underway.

The Bangladesh High Commission in the Maldives, however, offers a different explanation. They claim the suspension is due to a fulfilled quota for Bangladeshi workers, coupled with concerns about overstaffing in some Maldivian companies.

Illegal immigration has been a persistent challenge for the Maldives. To address this, its home ministry launched a special operation named "Kurangi" that has collected biometric data from more than 700 migrants.

This is not the first time the Maldives has restricted Bangladeshi worker recruitment. A prior administration imposed a ban in September 2019, which was lifted by the current government in December 2023.

Md Sohel Parvez, first secretary (Labour Welfare) at the Bangladesh High Commission in the Maldives, told TBS that the previous Maldivian government restricted the number of foreign workers to 100,000.

The new government, upon assuming office, lifted this restriction to address labour shortages but has now halted new hires as the quota has been met.

Responding to allegations of fake documents and labour market closure, he said that some companies recruited workers under false pretences of job availability, then released them without jobs, potentially for extortion purposes.

A Bangladeshi syndicate was implicated, and Maldivian authorities are investigating involved companies, he added.

"These people came with proper visas, but they didn't get jobs," Parvez said, raising questions about the Maldivian authorities' visa verification process. He further mentioned a trend of Bangladeshi workers fleeing their employers, and becoming undocumented in the process.

However, Parvez remains optimistic that the new Maldivian government might abolish the quota system, potentially leading to the lifting of the suspension.

In December, Maldivian Home Minister Ali Ihusan said that there are 139,220 active work permits for Bangladeshi labourers, but only 39,004 of them are consistently paying the required fees.

As of December, the number of Bangladeshi labourers in the Maldives was 90,642, below the cap of 100,000 set by the Employment Act for a single-source market

"Some Bangladeshis have left for other countries, contributing to the challenge of tracking all workers with active permits, with many still living undocumented," Md Omar Faruk Khondaker, a Bangladeshi journalist based in Male told TBS yesterday over the phone.

He also pointed out that the "free visa" system is being exploited to bring in more workers, with syndicates operating both among employers and Bangladeshi agencies and middlemen to profit from hiring unnecessary workers.

The Maldives economy relies heavily on tourism, with 1.8 million foreign visitors last year, the second-highest in South Asia. Bangladeshi workers mainly work in tourism and hospitality, such as hotel staff, restaurant waiters, and chefs. Some professionals like doctors also work there.

Recently, workers going to the Maldives had to pay around Tk3-4 lakh in migration costs. However, those employed legally in hotels and restaurants can earn up to Tk50,000 monthly.

Belal Hossain, from Habiganj, shared his experience, saying, "I started as a guest receiver six years ago with $200. Now I earn $500 to $600 per month as a waiter."

Bangladeshi workers sent $31.69 million in the current fiscal year (from July to April) as remittance.

According to a study by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) last year, only 53% of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Maldives receive the promised wage, with an average monthly income of Tk35,147.

The study also found that documented Bangladeshi workers in Maldives earn an average monthly income of Tk37,066, while undocumented ones earn Tk25,650.

The study further revealed that 33% of Bangladeshis in Maldives work in hotels and resorts, 25% in construction, 7% as day labourers, 2% each as domestic workers and in the fisheries sector, with the remaining 31% employed in various other sectors.