If something goes wrong, you should not have to find out who to tell.
A worker grievance mechanism is a published route for reporting a problem with recruitment, a contract or treatment at work, so a worker, a family member or an employer knows exactly who to tell and what happens next. Ours covers the whole journey, before departure, during employment in the Gulf and after return, and works in Bangla or English.
It is free at every stage, it can be used without giving a name, and raising a complaint does not cost a worker future placements with us. Complaints about our own conduct are accepted on the same terms, and the official government routes stay open alongside ours.
How Do You Raise a Complaint?
- Free at every stage for the worker, a family member or the employer, with no charge for documents or copies of your file.
- Open in Bangla or English at any stage, before departure, during employment in the Gulf or after return to Bangladesh.
- Acknowledged within 48 hours with a reference number, and closed with a written decision within 15 working days.
- The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and court routes stay open, and we hand your file over to use them.
- No retaliation for complaining: no worker loses database standing, future placement or fair treatment for raising an issue.
How Does the Grievance Process Protect You?
Every complaint runs on a published timeline with a named handler, and a case about our own conduct is reviewed by someone not involved in that placement. What counts, what evidence helps and who sees your file all follow written rules.
Independent and Government Complaint Routes
You do not have to come to us first, and you do not have to come to us at all. These routes are open to every migrant worker in Bangladesh.
| Route | What it offers |
|---|---|
| BMET online complaint | File at ovijogbmet.org and receive a PIN to track your complaint; separate general and women's complaint cells operate. |
| BMET arbitration | BMET can arbitrate with a recruiting agency to recover compensation, and work with labour wings at Bangladesh missions where a worker needs to return safely. |
| District office | District Employment and Manpower Offices and Migrant Welfare Desks accept complaints locally. |
| Ministry | Written complaints to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment. |
| Court | A case may be filed in a first-class judicial or metropolitan magistrate court, with a civil claim for compensation. |
| Free advice | Migrant Resource Centres give free advice and refer you to the responsible authority. |
Your file is yours. Ask us for your complete file at any time, to pursue any of these routes — including against us.
Why Does a Worker Grievance Mechanism Matter?
This worker grievance mechanism operates under the same written rules our recruitment is audited against: every complaint is logged, given a reference and answered in writing, whoever it names. It protects workers without replacing any legal route open to them. All our recruitment follows the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 (Act No. 48 of 2013), the statute that governs overseas employment from Bangladesh. Manpower BD recruits under Government-Approved Recruiting Licence RL-1472. Reviewed by Manpower BD Team.
What Counts as a Grievance?
A grievance is any breach of what a worker signed up to: a fee demanded by anyone, a contract that differs from the one signed in Bangladesh, a passport held back, unpaid wages, or misconduct by an agent, sub-agent or employer. Each of these breaks the ethical recruitment standards we publish, so reporting one is treated as help, not trouble. If you are not sure a problem qualifies, raise it and let the handler decide.
What Evidence Helps Your Case?
Keep the employment contract, every receipt, medical and training papers, visa and ticket copies, and any messages about the job, including voice notes. Photographs of a demand note or of working conditions carry weight, and we add the records we already hold, deployment, clearance and payment files, to your case. A documented claim is what BMET arbitration and the courts act on.
Who Sees Your Complaint?
Only the people handling the case see your name: the assigned handler and, where escalation is needed, the manager reviewing the outcome. Nothing is shared with an employer or a sub-agent without your agreement, and an anonymous complaint is still logged and investigated as far as the facts allow. Where the complaint concerns Manpower BD itself, it goes to a reviewer with no part in that placement.
How Does the BMET Route Work?
You can complain to BMET online before, alongside or after using our process, and track the case with the number it gives you. BMET can arbitrate against a recruiting agency to recover compensation, and district employment offices and the Ministry accept complaints as well. We hand over your complete file on request, including where the complaint is against us, and we do not ask anyone to withdraw a case filed elsewhere.
When Can You Raise a Grievance?
Concerns about fees, contract terms, medical or training costs, or a promise that does not match the offered job can be raised before a worker flies. A problem is simpler to fix at this stage, and a documented complaint does not stop a placement going ahead on fair terms.
- Fee demands: Report any payment asked of a worker by an agent or anyone else.
- Contract check: Ask us to verify terms against the signed offer before you accept or fly.
- Cost queries: Question any medical, training or document charge that was not in writing.
- Paper record: A dated complaint before departure protects every later claim you make.
Once abroad, a worker can reach us about unpaid or short wages, unsafe conditions, a contract that was swapped, or ill-treatment. A voice message on WhatsApp is enough to open a case, and where safety is at risk we work with BMET and the labour wing at the Bangladesh mission.
- Wage issues: Report unpaid, short or delayed wages, with payslips where you hold them.
- Contract swap: Tell us if duties, pay or hours differ from the contract you signed.
- Safety risks: Unsafe work or housing is acted on with the employer and the authorities.
- Held documents: A passport kept from a worker is a breach we take up at once.
A returned worker can still raise unpaid dues, wrongful deductions or a compensation claim through the worker grievance mechanism. This is where documents matter most: with the contract, receipts and the records we issued, a claim can go to BMET arbitration or the courts.
- Unpaid dues: Claim wages or benefits left unpaid when the job ended or was cut short.
- File handover: Ask for your complete file to support a BMET or court claim.
- Arbitration: BMET can arbitrate with an agency to recover compensation for a worker.
- Fresh start: A closed complaint leaves your standing for future placements unchanged.
What Happens After You Complain?
Worker Grievance Mechanism Questions
Does it cost anything to complain?
No. Raising a complaint is free at every stage, from the first call to the written decision, and no worker pays for a document or a copy of their own file. A demand for payment at any point is itself a ground to complain, not a bill to settle. Where a recruitment fee was wrongly taken from a worker, our fee refund process exists to return it.
Can I complain anonymously?
Yes. You can complain without giving your name, by phone, voice note or the online form, and the case is still logged and looked into as far as the facts allow. Staying anonymous limits what can be investigated, and we may not be able to send you an outcome. If you do give your name, it is shared only with the people handling your case, not with the employer.
What if the complaint is about Manpower BD itself?
It is accepted on the same terms as any other complaint and reviewed by someone who had no part in that placement, so nobody judges their own work. You keep the right to go to BMET, the Ministry or a court at any point, and we hand over your complete file on request, including for use against us. A complaint of this kind is not closed without a written outcome.
Will complaining affect my chances of future work?
No. No worker is removed from our database, refused a placement or marked down for raising a complaint, with us or with any authority, and treating a complainant less favourably would itself breach the rules we recruit under. A closed case leaves you free to apply for any job opportunity we advertise, on the same footing as every other candidate.
I already complained to BMET. Can I still contact you?
Yes. The two processes are separate, and you do not have to choose between them or come to us first. We will not ask you to withdraw a complaint made to BMET, the Ministry or a court, and we will supply the contract, receipts and records that support it. Tell your handler the tracking number, so the papers we release match the case you have opened.