A mechanism to protect workers' rights
Shahiduzzaman Khan | Sunday, 31 August 2008
FORMATION of a regulatory commission has become an imperative to protect the rights of the migrant workers abroad. The commission should be formed with people drawn from various professional bodies, recruiting agencies, and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs It is a pity that the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has so far failed to protect the interests of the migrant workers, who are regularly being harassed by their employers abroad or cheated by local manpower agencies.
The Bangladeshi workers officially sent more than $6.0 billion in remittances last year, but the wage earners are all along facing difficulties. It's very unfortunate. Migrant workers, legal and illegal, every year remit a huge amount of money that helps keep the national economy afloat amid various economic challenges. But they are the most neglected segment of the society so far.
According to the Bangladesh Bank statistics, the government expects the remittance many touch $9.0 billion mark by the end of this year. It stands as the second largest source of foreign exchange after the RMG sector, which last year brought in $8.0 billion. There were some disturbances in a number of Gulf states on wage structure of the expatriate workers. Bangladeshi workers took part in the strikes demanding higher salaries, which led to the expulsion of hundreds of migrant workers from those Gulf nations.
What is seen as a positive gesture on the part of a Gulf nation is that Oman has recently lifted a ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers after 12 years and expressed the desire to recruit skilled workforce from the country. Oman is perhaps the first Middle Eastern country, which is keen to institutionalise manpower export from Bangladesh. It has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh on recruiting manpower from the latter. Oman has similar agreements with all Gulf States, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
In fact, nothing could be gained through legal fight with the Kuwaiti and other Gulf governments. The Gulf nations' laws have no provision that ensures rights of the foreign workers. Yet the United Arab Emirates (UAE), another Middle Eastern destination for Bangladeshi job seekers, is planning to end hiring manpower from abroad through recruiting agencies. This will check exploitation of gullible workers who often fall victims to unscrupulous recruiting agents. The UAE Ministry of Labour, in cooperation with the counterpart ministries of other countries, will soon reach agreements to streamline the process of hiring of workers. The country has already told the Bangladesh government of its plan to sign an additional protocol in this connection with Bangladesh to regulate the flow of workers.
The country-wise trend of manpower export reveals that the Middle-Eastern countries including the UAE are major overseas job markets for Bangladesh. Over 0.8 million Bangladeshis, including some 0.13 million last year have so far gone to the UAE with jobs. Bangladesh sent more than 542,000 workers abroad of which 235,000 went to Malaysia last year.
Sustaining the remittance growth has become a major challenge for Bangladesh as the development dynamics in the Middle East has been changing fast, adopting latest technologies and requiring highly skilled workers in almost all sectors. The country needs to progressively change the country mix and increase skill level of its migrant workers to sustain its remittance growth. Since fiscal year 1999-2000, Bangladesh has received around 85 per cent of its remittance from only five countries - Saudi Arabia, the United States, United Kingdom, the UAE, and Kuwait. In the last fiscal year, these five countries accounted for more than $5.0 billion of the total remittance inflow of $5.98 billion. But, recently the development dynamics in the three Middle East countries has been changing rapidly, posing a threat to Bangladesh's manpower exports.
Most of the Middle Eastern countries including Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE can now be compared with any developed country and mere proficiency in Arabic is not enough to get jobs in those countries in the future. An adequate number of international-standard vocational and training institutes should be set up to groom the future workforce destined for the Middle East. Non-governmental organisations and private entrepreneurs can establish such institutes, which need to be affiliated with similar institutes in the developed countries, with the government playing a facilitating role.
Meanwhile, the present caretaker administration has undertaken a seven-point strategy to ensure the well being of the Bangladeshi workers abroad and expand the manpower-export market worldwide by removing the prevailing hurdles. The strategy includes exploring new manpower export markets in the Scandinavian, European and East European countries like Norway, Sweden and Romania.
The plan also includes extension of the existing markets in the Middle-East, including Libya, enhancing skills in the English language, exporting manpower from Monga-affected areas, ensuring proper utilisation of remittances, ensuring strong monitoring to check fraud in manpower export, and working together with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Migration Organisation (IMO). The government has adopted the strategy, as it believes that the country's prime foreign currency earnings would come from the manpower-export sector.
The Indian Institute of Management recently conducted a research on 'making Bangladesh a leading manpower exporter: Chasing a dream of $30 billion annual migrant remittance by 2015'. According to the study report, Bangladesh has to target Spain, France, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, and Austria for manpower export on a priority basis as such countries have high remittance potential but low presence of Bangladeshis. The report said, in the short and medium terms, Bangladesh should target occupations such as agriculture professionals, clerical and secretarial jobs, accountant, technicians, chefs and caterers, carpenters, masons, drivers, and electricians. But, after establishing high-quality training institutes, the country should export doctors, nurses, financial experts, and managers in the long run, the report added.
However, the government should tighten monitoring the activities of the recruiting agencies, and rogue agencies should be brought to book. The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) should take stern action against the agencies that cheat people. Bangladesh's diplomatic missions abroad should be warned against their apathy to stand by the migrant workers when troubles arise. The government should give financial assistance to the workers who have been deported from Kuwait and other Gulf states.
The Ministry of Expatriates Welfare under its current form has thoroughly failed to impart necessary training, build accommodation or healthcare facilities for the workers. There are widespread allegations of extortion, bribery and gross mismanagement in the overseas employment process. Bangladeshi workers lag far behind compared with the workers of other countries under SAARC. Some Tk 200 million budget meant annually for the ministry is mostly used for the entertainment of the ministry people.
Experts relating to manpower export business opined that tough legislations should be enacted to stop export of manpower dishonestly. Malpractice in manpower export is considered a worst problem in recruitment for foreign jobs. Such malpractice must be curbed at all costs to safeguard the country's 'lost' image and interests.
It is evident that the Bangladesh government does not have any coherent migration policy for channelling its people abroad. If it had any, the situation would surely be different today in that many more people would have gone and found work in other countries. In other words, the Bangladesh government not only fails to provide its citizens jobs inside the country but also fails to help them find jobs abroad.
Many experts believe that with proper planning and sound government policy many more opportunities for Bangladeshis to go abroad would have opened. The government went for a 'open sky policy' very recently. It was a temporary move to help facilitate workers' speedy departure. Such move can be taken off and on until a permanent solution is found out to tame the flight hassles.
................................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com
The Bangladeshi workers officially sent more than $6.0 billion in remittances last year, but the wage earners are all along facing difficulties. It's very unfortunate. Migrant workers, legal and illegal, every year remit a huge amount of money that helps keep the national economy afloat amid various economic challenges. But they are the most neglected segment of the society so far.
According to the Bangladesh Bank statistics, the government expects the remittance many touch $9.0 billion mark by the end of this year. It stands as the second largest source of foreign exchange after the RMG sector, which last year brought in $8.0 billion. There were some disturbances in a number of Gulf states on wage structure of the expatriate workers. Bangladeshi workers took part in the strikes demanding higher salaries, which led to the expulsion of hundreds of migrant workers from those Gulf nations.
What is seen as a positive gesture on the part of a Gulf nation is that Oman has recently lifted a ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers after 12 years and expressed the desire to recruit skilled workforce from the country. Oman is perhaps the first Middle Eastern country, which is keen to institutionalise manpower export from Bangladesh. It has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh on recruiting manpower from the latter. Oman has similar agreements with all Gulf States, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
In fact, nothing could be gained through legal fight with the Kuwaiti and other Gulf governments. The Gulf nations' laws have no provision that ensures rights of the foreign workers. Yet the United Arab Emirates (UAE), another Middle Eastern destination for Bangladeshi job seekers, is planning to end hiring manpower from abroad through recruiting agencies. This will check exploitation of gullible workers who often fall victims to unscrupulous recruiting agents. The UAE Ministry of Labour, in cooperation with the counterpart ministries of other countries, will soon reach agreements to streamline the process of hiring of workers. The country has already told the Bangladesh government of its plan to sign an additional protocol in this connection with Bangladesh to regulate the flow of workers.
The country-wise trend of manpower export reveals that the Middle-Eastern countries including the UAE are major overseas job markets for Bangladesh. Over 0.8 million Bangladeshis, including some 0.13 million last year have so far gone to the UAE with jobs. Bangladesh sent more than 542,000 workers abroad of which 235,000 went to Malaysia last year.
Sustaining the remittance growth has become a major challenge for Bangladesh as the development dynamics in the Middle East has been changing fast, adopting latest technologies and requiring highly skilled workers in almost all sectors. The country needs to progressively change the country mix and increase skill level of its migrant workers to sustain its remittance growth. Since fiscal year 1999-2000, Bangladesh has received around 85 per cent of its remittance from only five countries - Saudi Arabia, the United States, United Kingdom, the UAE, and Kuwait. In the last fiscal year, these five countries accounted for more than $5.0 billion of the total remittance inflow of $5.98 billion. But, recently the development dynamics in the three Middle East countries has been changing rapidly, posing a threat to Bangladesh's manpower exports.
Most of the Middle Eastern countries including Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE can now be compared with any developed country and mere proficiency in Arabic is not enough to get jobs in those countries in the future. An adequate number of international-standard vocational and training institutes should be set up to groom the future workforce destined for the Middle East. Non-governmental organisations and private entrepreneurs can establish such institutes, which need to be affiliated with similar institutes in the developed countries, with the government playing a facilitating role.
Meanwhile, the present caretaker administration has undertaken a seven-point strategy to ensure the well being of the Bangladeshi workers abroad and expand the manpower-export market worldwide by removing the prevailing hurdles. The strategy includes exploring new manpower export markets in the Scandinavian, European and East European countries like Norway, Sweden and Romania.
The plan also includes extension of the existing markets in the Middle-East, including Libya, enhancing skills in the English language, exporting manpower from Monga-affected areas, ensuring proper utilisation of remittances, ensuring strong monitoring to check fraud in manpower export, and working together with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Migration Organisation (IMO). The government has adopted the strategy, as it believes that the country's prime foreign currency earnings would come from the manpower-export sector.
The Indian Institute of Management recently conducted a research on 'making Bangladesh a leading manpower exporter: Chasing a dream of $30 billion annual migrant remittance by 2015'. According to the study report, Bangladesh has to target Spain, France, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, and Austria for manpower export on a priority basis as such countries have high remittance potential but low presence of Bangladeshis. The report said, in the short and medium terms, Bangladesh should target occupations such as agriculture professionals, clerical and secretarial jobs, accountant, technicians, chefs and caterers, carpenters, masons, drivers, and electricians. But, after establishing high-quality training institutes, the country should export doctors, nurses, financial experts, and managers in the long run, the report added.
However, the government should tighten monitoring the activities of the recruiting agencies, and rogue agencies should be brought to book. The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) should take stern action against the agencies that cheat people. Bangladesh's diplomatic missions abroad should be warned against their apathy to stand by the migrant workers when troubles arise. The government should give financial assistance to the workers who have been deported from Kuwait and other Gulf states.
The Ministry of Expatriates Welfare under its current form has thoroughly failed to impart necessary training, build accommodation or healthcare facilities for the workers. There are widespread allegations of extortion, bribery and gross mismanagement in the overseas employment process. Bangladeshi workers lag far behind compared with the workers of other countries under SAARC. Some Tk 200 million budget meant annually for the ministry is mostly used for the entertainment of the ministry people.
Experts relating to manpower export business opined that tough legislations should be enacted to stop export of manpower dishonestly. Malpractice in manpower export is considered a worst problem in recruitment for foreign jobs. Such malpractice must be curbed at all costs to safeguard the country's 'lost' image and interests.
It is evident that the Bangladesh government does not have any coherent migration policy for channelling its people abroad. If it had any, the situation would surely be different today in that many more people would have gone and found work in other countries. In other words, the Bangladesh government not only fails to provide its citizens jobs inside the country but also fails to help them find jobs abroad.
Many experts believe that with proper planning and sound government policy many more opportunities for Bangladeshis to go abroad would have opened. The government went for a 'open sky policy' very recently. It was a temporary move to help facilitate workers' speedy departure. Such move can be taken off and on until a permanent solution is found out to tame the flight hassles.
................................................................
szkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.com