Rights campaigners on Wednesday urged the authorities concerned to make public the deals regarding manpower recruitment process between the sending and receiving countries.
This way the workers will get access to information, and will ultimately become aware about their rights and benefits, the rights defenders observed.
They also stressed the need for giving proper skill development training to the female migrant workers before sending them abroad, to help ensure protection.
The rights activists were speaking at a meeting of experts to share the findings of a study on Intergovernmental Mechanisms for the Recruitment of Women Migrant Domestic Workers from Bangladesh. UN Women organised the meeting at a city hotel.
Rahnuma Salam Khan, National Programme Officer of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the agreements and deals regarding recruitment of workers should be made public.
The summarised forms of the deals can be published on the official websites so that people can have knowledge about the benefits and rights of the overseas workers.
Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori, said the country has a particular law regarding access to information; so people have the rights to know all necessary information that will help protect their interests.
She said women domestic helps get deprived of their rights at home and abroad and all returnees have the same dismal stories to tell.
"Measures should be taken to ensure a safe working environment for them," she added.
Nicola Piper, professor of International Migration, University of Sydney and Queen Mary University of London, presented primary findings of the study where she said monitoring of recruitment processes is a primary obligation of the government of Bangladesh in the bilateral agreements (BLAs).
Involvement of unlicensed dalas (middlemen) in recruitment process hampers the ability of the government to fulfill its obligations under the BLAs, she said.
Protection of the women migrant domestic workers in the BLAs is linked to domestic legislation, not international standards.
Bangladesh needs to create awareness about specific rules for each of the destination countries, she read the findings.
The research also put a set of recommendations, including professionalising the agencies, tackling of dala involvement, pre-departure training etc.
Shakirul Islam, chairman of the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), said private manpower recruiters always say they are the main contributor of sending workers abroad; but they do not want to take responsibility when a worker is victimised and returns home.
"We should rather work now than talk only, about these issues, to prevent the malpractices," he added.
Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, additional secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said the ministry is committed to ensuring transparency in the process of labour migration.
Sally Babar, regional programme coordinator (Migration), ROAP of UN Women moderated the open discussion while Shoko Ishikawa, country representative of UN Women Bangladesh delivered vote of thanks.
Representatives from different organisations and officials among others were present at the programme.
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