The overall manpower export from Bangladesh witnessed a robust growth of 36.31 per cent in 2016 as some 758,000 workers got overseas jobs in the last calendar year, according to news agency reports. This was 36.31 per cent higher than that of 2015, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam informed a press briefing.
The minister said that the highest 188,247 Bangladeshi workers went to Saudi Arabia last year and the country received a record remittance of US$2,989 million from Saudi Arabia followed by US$2,535 from the UAE. While this has been a remarkable progress on the income side, the situation on the cost side had been worsening. According to statistics furnished by the World Bank, cost of migration for workers from Bangladesh is the highest in the world. The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) added further salt to the injuries by saying that against mounting costs of migration of workers from Bangladesh, workers from the Philippines are given free work permit for employment in the Middle East. Billions of Taka are spent at home in the name of procuring demand notes from abroad and processing visa at home.
As remittance earning and the number of migrant workers are both rising steadily, the situation should have been better. The number of migrant workers already exceeded one million last year. Reasons thereof are not far to seek. Middlemen and recruiting agencies hold back lion's share of the money earned abroad as recruitment fees and visa processing charges and the authorities concerned under the manpower sector of the government hold sale-purchase of visa responsible for current exorbitant costs of migration.
The TIB says that 90 per cent of intending migrant workers are victims of corruption at different stages. Tk 2.34 billions were laundered out of the country for collecting visa in 2016 and irregularities around demand note and visa collection touched Tk 82.5 billions in 2017. A local daily reports corruption involving Tk 200.00 billion in this field with a major part of it going to a syndicate at the concerned ministry.
Manpower exporters buy demand notes from abroad and sell them to intending migrants at home. As manpower brokers of Bangladesh and recruiting countries are jointly involved in exploiting the migrant workers, cost of migration becomes double and at times triple the cost fixed by the government. Transfer of demand notes is illegal and therefore payments are made through hundi.
The situation has been deteriorating. Workers are now going to Malaysia under government management G2G Plus. But corruption continues unabated. Recruiting agencies collect demand notes from recruiting countries against which the workers are issued visa. Since activities involving visa processing are done by agencies, corruption takes place at all stages.
According to BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies) which is the apex body of recruiting agents of the country with approximately 700 member agencies, manpower brokers retain a large portion of the recruitment charges before demand notes reach the recruiting agencies. The Association sent a proposal to the government for introduction of bio-recruitment which will help prevent illegal purchase of demand notes for workers by foreign employers abroad. Recruitment of workers could be made broker free in this way. Under the system, agencies would receive payment after the concerned workers reach their country of destinations.
A former leader of BAIRA who sent 200 workers to Saudi Arabia last year admitted while talking to a local daily that while the government fixed fees for each worker was Tk165,000, migrant workers had to spend Tk 600,000 per head including ticketing cost and agency profit. The workers could easily lodge complain but since they apprehend that it might cost them the opportunity for employment abroad, they refrain from doing so..
Since the country is poised for complete digitisation, foreign recruitment through biometric process would be a welcome move for reasons explained earlier. What is most important is the necessity of plugging the holes at all stages for which strong monitoring must be ensured. In addition, a certain percentage of the government fixed recruitment charges may be earmarked for the recruiting agents. This will help increase the number of intending migrant workers and the amount of remittance for the country. Last but not least, recruitment should be purely under government control which would help ensure transparency in the manpower sector.
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