South Korea migration aspirants on Wednesday besieged Probashi Kallyan Bhaban demanding speedy migration for the estimated 21,000 aspirants on a seniority basis.
The agitated aspirant migrants also demanded the resignation of top officials of the government recruiting agency Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited for their failure and alleged corruption over the migration process.
Witnesses said that several hundred migration aspirants to South Korea started a demonstration in front of the building in the capital鈥檚 Eskaton around 12:00noon disrupting entry and exit from the offices housed in the building.
The Ministry of Expatriates鈥� Welfare and Overseas Employment and its affiliated organisations, including the Wage Earners鈥� Welfare Board and Probashi Kalayn Bank, among others, are housed in the building.
During the demonstration, the protesters announced that the blockade programme would continue until their demands were met. However, they withdrew the protest after two hours as the BOESEL sat with their delegation to discuss and solve the issues.
One of the aspirant migrants, Shipon Ahmed said that, like him, a total of 21,000 aspirant migrants were waiting for up to five years even after completing the Employment Permit System.
South Korea recruits low- and medium-skilled workers from Bangladesh through the EPS, a temporary labour migration programme designed for low-skilled workers from 16 countries. It is a multitier process from language education to skill tests and medical tests.
Shipon said that they have passed all the tests and are just waiting for a visa.
The protesters alleged that due to the negligence and incompetence of the BOESL officials, more circulars were issued than the actual demand, which led to the deletion of thousands of previously rostered candidates, with more at risk of being deleted in the future.
The protesters also said that the BOESL officials don鈥檛 follow seniority or sequences but rather resort to nepotism and make the list taking bribes.
Currently, around 21,000 visa-aspiring individuals who have passed and are on the roster have been waiting to migrate under the two-year roster system, they said.
They said to resolve the prevailing crisis involving the EPS programme, the government must intervene diplomatically to ensure the re-rostering of deleted candidates, increase visa issuance based on batch year and serial number, and prevent the dreams of 21,000 workers from being shattered.
Additionally, they demanded an urgent discussion between the chief adviser and student representatives to address the issues.
The longstanding irregularities and unjust framework of the BOESL from the fascist era must be dismantled, and the entire system must undergo comprehensive reform and restructuring, the protesters demanded.
A top official of BOESEL said that the problem was created on the Korea side, where the Bangladesh embassy can play a role.
He said that they are trying to solve the issues.
