Bangladesh is most likely to be able to send a paltry 5.0 per cent of female workers that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) wants to recruit because of poor response from the job seekers.
The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) received only 800 female workers' data through its countrywide enlistment programme and job fair against the demand, placed earlier by the KSA, at more than 20,000.
Factors such as security concerns and low salary might have discouraged female workers from going to Saudi Arabia with jobs, said officials and migrant experts.
Due to high demand for domestic helps, in the middle of May last the deputy minister for international affairs, ministry of labour in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Ahmed Alfahid visited Bangladesh and showed interest in recruiting some 50,000 domestic helps before Ramadan.
Bangladesh government assured him of sending some 20,000 female workers within a month against their requirement.
Officials said despite launching a countrywide programme by the authorities concerned to attract female job seekers, there was very little response.
Last month the BMET organised a job fair for Saudi bound domestic helps where some 100 recruitment agencies were involved to boost enlistment.
But only 400 job seekers got themselves enlisted, according to the BMET.
"I got only 40 candidates from the job fair. Of them, only 20 expressed their willingness to go to Saudi Arabia," said a manpower recruiter wishing anonymity.
There is also complication as they are facing difficulties in getting medical clearance, he added, posing the question "So how we will send workers before Ramadan?"
On the other hand, an official of the District Employment and Manpower Office (DEMO) at Munshiganj said panic has gripped the female job seekers and their families over lack of protection in Saudi Arabia. Despite the awareness programme, most of the people still think their female relatives will face uncertainty in getting their due rights in the Arab country, he said.
So the number of enlistment was very poor. We got only 21 candidates during the four-day fair. Besides, most of them have changed their decision in the meantime about securing jobs in Saudi Arabia, he added.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE) minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told the FE that they did not get expected level of response from the female overseas job seekers for the Arab country.
"So we can send 700 to 800 workers to Saudi Arabia presently," he said.
But it is a continuing process and enlistment programme is open for registration. So data will be sent to the employers when it is received.
He said Bangladeshi women do not want to go abroad for jobs as it is difficult for them for adjust with family members and the society after returning home.
Besides, income generating programme and also employment opportunities has increased for female workers locally, the minister said.
BMET director general Begum Shamsun Nahar said because of low wages women are feeling discouraged from going to the Arab country.
"We have already informed the Saudi authority that we are unable to attract workers with such low wages as fixed in the agreement," she said.
Bangladeshi Ovibashi Mohila Sramik Association (BOMSA), director Sumaiya Islam said although all the employers are not violating human rights in Saudi Arabia and the protection measures have been strengthened in the recent agreement, women still fear ill treatment in their employer's house.
Last February Saudi Arabian government signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to hire 12 categories of workers in housekeeping sectors from Bangladesh. Of them minimum wages for housemaid has been fixed at 800 Saudi Riyals (equivalent to Tk 16,564) each. Accommodation and meal will be provided by the employers.
A total of 2.63 million Bangladeshis travelled to the KSA with jobs from 1976 to 2014, according to the BMET.
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