CNI News
8 September 2023
Over 100 overseas employment agencies have increased more than the last two years because it has become good to do business as agencies and the number of people who go abroad for work has increased, those who help migrant workers said.
There were about 300 licensed overseas employment agencies in 2021 and the number of agencies has been up to over 400.
Although the ministry of labor grants a license if an agency meets the requirements when it applies for a license, as fraudulent issues may be rampant with more agencies, the ministry needs to strictly supervise them, said Ko Thar Gyi, one of the people helping migrant workers, to CNI News.
" An overseas employment agency can earn money easily and the relevant department is not free from corruption if there's anything wrong. Talking of more agencies, former police officials or people relating to them, and people relating to military officials found the agencies. They have more rights than an ordinary civilian. If an agency is closed and another agency is founded, the founder must be another person. But what is related, when the agency that is closed has to deposit, they pay for it. Even though the ministry know about it, the ministry grant the license due to consistence with the procedure. It's too bad that the agency that is closed cannot be taken action against." said Ko Thar Gyi.
Moreover, the agencies that were closed re-applied for licenses as new agencies changing the name of founder and have got licenses reportedly. Overseas employment agencies become more not because the number of people who go abroad has increased, said U Zaw Min Min, leader of the Malaysian Working Committee, to CNI News.
" Not everybody who applied got the license. Some agencies haven't got the licenses for about six months. You can't say the number of people who go abroad has increased. Recruitment of new labors from foreign countries has become less in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. According to the office of the Overseas Workers Identity Card, the number of people who officially go abroad relatively has so much decreased. Job opportunities in those countries are not good." said U Zaw Min Min.
People who are waiting in line to get passports
In stead of granting licenses to agencies, the ministry should carry out emphatically for the sake of Myanmar migrant workers, said the people helping migrant workers.
" When the people are sent to another country, we should systematically solve the problems of the migrant workers without being a way of focusing on agencies. Apart from taking action against an agency, we should take into account of the emotional damages and lives of those who were victimized. We need to help them because this is a way of official selling the people. The agencies should have understood they are the workers who came taking risk of all their ownerships, having sold their farmlands or their houses." said Ko Naing Aung Aung, director of the Arakan Workers Organization.
In order to be able to prevent from nominal and dishonest agencies, the ministry is scrutinizing to enable the agencies that can really invest to apply, said Dr. Pwint San, former minister.
When the ministry scrutinize license application, an agency that has applied has to fully protect its workers who face problems in foreign countries, he said in the meeting held on 2nd August.
