Better policies to guide foreign employment
Monday, 26 April 2010
Mahmood Rashid
The manpower sector in Bangladesh which earns a lion's share of the country's foreign currency appears to be shot through with very great crimes, corruption and the consequent tragedies. This has been happening year after year when Bangladesh's competitors in manpower exports from neigbouring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been streamlining their manpower trade with great beneficial effects of the same for individuals and the national economies. Internally, these countries have developed conditions where committing of frauds in the manpower export sector have become very difficult. The foreign missions of these countries are also found to be reasonably active in ensuring the rights and interests of their expatriate workers abroad.
Governments in these countries also have been maintaining and increasing resources for the training of workers with the eye for overseas markets. The overall policy in these countries is to send out more skilled than unskilled workers because the earnings from the skilled ones are greater. Financial institutions like banks in India and Pakistan provide loans on easy terms to workers to pay off the fees of recruitment agencies and for other costs. Thus, the amounts that these countries are able to earn from their overseas working people from pursuing such policies are far greater than what is being earned by Bangladesh.
It is obvious that Bangladesh is lagging far behind in these areas. The first task in order would be ensuring that unscrupulous manpower agencies cannot function in any form. All authorised agencies must be made to operate honestly and this should include taking only the government approved fees from different categories of workers. Bangladeshi missions abroad need to be geared to play out their due role to fully meet the representational needs of the country's expatriate workers.
Like in the other subcontinental countries, official training opportunities for potential expatriate workers must increase substantially and the aim of training ought to be creation of skilled manpower in diverse areas for overseas job markets.
The ones who will take up employment abroad must be prevented from agreeing to accept wages or salaries below a ceiling in their respective categories. Financial organisations should be encouraged to run schemes to extend easy loans for the overseas workers to help them in the payment of their fees to recruitment agencies and meet other costs.
The manpower sector in Bangladesh which earns a lion's share of the country's foreign currency appears to be shot through with very great crimes, corruption and the consequent tragedies. This has been happening year after year when Bangladesh's competitors in manpower exports from neigbouring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been streamlining their manpower trade with great beneficial effects of the same for individuals and the national economies. Internally, these countries have developed conditions where committing of frauds in the manpower export sector have become very difficult. The foreign missions of these countries are also found to be reasonably active in ensuring the rights and interests of their expatriate workers abroad.
Governments in these countries also have been maintaining and increasing resources for the training of workers with the eye for overseas markets. The overall policy in these countries is to send out more skilled than unskilled workers because the earnings from the skilled ones are greater. Financial institutions like banks in India and Pakistan provide loans on easy terms to workers to pay off the fees of recruitment agencies and for other costs. Thus, the amounts that these countries are able to earn from their overseas working people from pursuing such policies are far greater than what is being earned by Bangladesh.
It is obvious that Bangladesh is lagging far behind in these areas. The first task in order would be ensuring that unscrupulous manpower agencies cannot function in any form. All authorised agencies must be made to operate honestly and this should include taking only the government approved fees from different categories of workers. Bangladeshi missions abroad need to be geared to play out their due role to fully meet the representational needs of the country's expatriate workers.
Like in the other subcontinental countries, official training opportunities for potential expatriate workers must increase substantially and the aim of training ought to be creation of skilled manpower in diverse areas for overseas job markets.
The ones who will take up employment abroad must be prevented from agreeing to accept wages or salaries below a ceiling in their respective categories. Financial organisations should be encouraged to run schemes to extend easy loans for the overseas workers to help them in the payment of their fees to recruitment agencies and meet other costs.