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Ministries blasted for failure to protect workers' interests abroad

FE Report | December 03, 2019 00:00:00


A government lawmaker on Monday blasted the ministries concerned for their failure to protect the interests of Bangladeshis working abroad and ensure overall development of the sector.

He said except making database of workers, the authorities concerned could hardly make any headway in these matters in the last one decade.

Israfil Alam, MP, chairman of the parliamentary caucus, was speaking as the chief guest at a workshop on 'Safe Migration: Responsibility for Interesting Service Quality for Women Migrant Workers'.

Bangladeshi Ovibashi Mohila Sramik Association (BOMSA) organised the event at the city's CIRDAP Auditorium.

Mr Alam said migrant workers are not getting justice for their exploitation abroad.

Women workers are returning home from Saudi Arabia because of different types of torture; but they are not getting legal support in the job destination countries, he lamented.

After returning home, they are also abandoned by society and families and are forced to lead a painful life, he said.

"Civil society, rights bodies are not raising these issues properly," he said, adding that without movement no positive change can come. So it is needed to raise voice strongly in the regard.

He also said he thinks that women need to go abroad but their workplace safety should be ensured first.

Right activists, manpower recruiters, officials, returnee female workers, among others were present at the workshop.

They demanded re-postmortem on the dead bodies of Bangladeshi migrant workers to remove confusion about the reasons of their death.

The participants also called for ensuring proper protection and justice for migrant women workers abroad.

Ruksana Yasmin, member of Parliamentarian Caucus on Migration and Development, Asif Munier, migration researcher, Lily Jahan, chairman, Farida Yeasmin, director, Sk Rumana, general secretary of BOMSA, Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of WARBE Development Foundation, Marina Sultana, director (Programme of RMMRU) and Ali Haider Chowdhury, director of East West Human Resource Center Ltd, among others, spoke.

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