Crises in ME, African nations to hit manpower export hard
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Jasim Uddin Haroon and Syful Islam
Manpower recruiters Wednesday said political unrest in Libya and Bahrain might further deteriorate the state of manpower export, the country's second largest remittance earning sector.
They said their move to send nearly 8,000 workers to Libya has become uncertain following the ongoing anti-Gaddafi protests in the country.
Currently around 100,000 Bangladeshi workers remain stranded there. But official statistics says, the number of Bangladeshi workers in the country is 65,000 plus and in crisis-stricken Benghazi the number is over 6,000.
The manpower export to middle-eastern country Bahrain has also remained unofficially suspended due to the protests in the country to overthrow King Hamad and his government, the recruiting agencies said.
At present around 200,000 Bangladeshis remain stranded in the country due to the political unrest. In the last month, Bangladesh exported 1,955 workers to Bahrain.
Bangladesh is also suffering following developments in Egypt.
In the meantime, the government has asked its all labour counsellors working abroad to be cautious following the political developments in the troubled middle-eastern and African countries.
Currently, all the labour counsellors are in Dhaka to attend a training programme to raise their capacity relating to manpower export.
They have been asked to keep close contact with the International Labour Organisation and International Organisation of Migration for getting any help from them in case of emergency situation.
Abul Bashar, president of BAIRA (Bangladesh International Recruiting Agencies), said political unrests in manpower importing nations would further deteriorate the country's manpower export situation.
"Unofficially, all sorts of recruiting process relating to sending manpower to Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have remained suspended," Mr Bashar added.
Bangladesh exports on an average around 2,000 workers to the Bahrain a month.
Manpower export to Kuwait and Malaysia has remained suspended for long while the Saudi Arabia has restricted quota for Bangladesh since 2007.
Golam Mostafa, former BAIRA president, said: "It will have a long-term impact on our manpower export."
Mr Mostafa also said Bangladesh is to opt for new markets now following the squeeze of traditional markets due to political unrests.
Meanwhile Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) said manpower export from Bangladesh drastically dropped to 32,924 in January, registering the lowest monthly recruitment overseas in recent years.
In January, recruitment for United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the country's largest manpower export market - has also declined significantly," according to BMET.
Currently, UAE, Oman, Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the main markets for Bangladesh.
Apart from these nations, Bangladesh also exports manpower to Lebanon and Mauritius.
Bangladeshis working abroad sent nearly US$ 11 billion in 2010. Around 7.2 million Bangladeshi workers are now working in different countries of the world.
"We're not afraid of happenings like the situations in Iraq and Kuwait during the early of 1990s," said a deputy secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare.
He said no Bangladeshi worker in Egypt has so far returned from the African country following the long anti-Mubarak crackdown.
bdnews24.com adds: The Bangladeshis working in Libya for Korean companies will be evacuated from Benghazi to the Egyptian border to ensure their safety amid mounting anti-government protests.
"I've contacted Daewoo (a renowned Korean company) chief in Tripoli and he has assured me that they'll evacuate their workers, including Bangladeshis, to Egyptian border, from Benghazi," Bangladesh ambassador to Libya ABM Nuruzzaman told the news agency over phone.
Another two big Korean companies, Hyundai and Dong Ah, are also taking initiatives to evacuate their workers, the ambassador said.
"Anyway, Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres away from Tripoli, is relatively a safe place in Libya," he said adding, "A camp has been set up there and we are advising Bangladeshi nationals to go there, if possible."
The ongoing unrest in Libya is turning into almost a civil war putting the entire oil-rich Mediterranean country into a total chaos.
The ambassador said so far there was no report of death of any Bangladeshi in Libya other than report of injuries.
"I've contacted Red Cross in Libya, and sought its help for the safety and security of Bangladeshis. The situation in Libya is not good as there was no electricity last night (Tuesday night) and I don't know what will happen today," he said.
He said, "The Bangladesh embassy has opened a cell to help the Bangladeshis working there and I visited the embassy today to monitor the overall situation."
Meanwhile, foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes had a meeting with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) head in Bangladesh Rabab Fatima Wednesday morning.
They discussed the possible evacuation of Bangladeshis in Libya, said a source in the ministry.
"Korean companies, including Hyundai, have already contacted the Bangladesh foreign ministry informing it about their intention to shift the Bangladeshis to safer places," he said.
Hyundai has already sent the ministry an email while other companies are contacting the government over phone, he added.
Manpower recruiters Wednesday said political unrest in Libya and Bahrain might further deteriorate the state of manpower export, the country's second largest remittance earning sector.
They said their move to send nearly 8,000 workers to Libya has become uncertain following the ongoing anti-Gaddafi protests in the country.
Currently around 100,000 Bangladeshi workers remain stranded there. But official statistics says, the number of Bangladeshi workers in the country is 65,000 plus and in crisis-stricken Benghazi the number is over 6,000.
The manpower export to middle-eastern country Bahrain has also remained unofficially suspended due to the protests in the country to overthrow King Hamad and his government, the recruiting agencies said.
At present around 200,000 Bangladeshis remain stranded in the country due to the political unrest. In the last month, Bangladesh exported 1,955 workers to Bahrain.
Bangladesh is also suffering following developments in Egypt.
In the meantime, the government has asked its all labour counsellors working abroad to be cautious following the political developments in the troubled middle-eastern and African countries.
Currently, all the labour counsellors are in Dhaka to attend a training programme to raise their capacity relating to manpower export.
They have been asked to keep close contact with the International Labour Organisation and International Organisation of Migration for getting any help from them in case of emergency situation.
Abul Bashar, president of BAIRA (Bangladesh International Recruiting Agencies), said political unrests in manpower importing nations would further deteriorate the country's manpower export situation.
"Unofficially, all sorts of recruiting process relating to sending manpower to Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have remained suspended," Mr Bashar added.
Bangladesh exports on an average around 2,000 workers to the Bahrain a month.
Manpower export to Kuwait and Malaysia has remained suspended for long while the Saudi Arabia has restricted quota for Bangladesh since 2007.
Golam Mostafa, former BAIRA president, said: "It will have a long-term impact on our manpower export."
Mr Mostafa also said Bangladesh is to opt for new markets now following the squeeze of traditional markets due to political unrests.
Meanwhile Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) said manpower export from Bangladesh drastically dropped to 32,924 in January, registering the lowest monthly recruitment overseas in recent years.
In January, recruitment for United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the country's largest manpower export market - has also declined significantly," according to BMET.
Currently, UAE, Oman, Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the main markets for Bangladesh.
Apart from these nations, Bangladesh also exports manpower to Lebanon and Mauritius.
Bangladeshis working abroad sent nearly US$ 11 billion in 2010. Around 7.2 million Bangladeshi workers are now working in different countries of the world.
"We're not afraid of happenings like the situations in Iraq and Kuwait during the early of 1990s," said a deputy secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare.
He said no Bangladeshi worker in Egypt has so far returned from the African country following the long anti-Mubarak crackdown.
bdnews24.com adds: The Bangladeshis working in Libya for Korean companies will be evacuated from Benghazi to the Egyptian border to ensure their safety amid mounting anti-government protests.
"I've contacted Daewoo (a renowned Korean company) chief in Tripoli and he has assured me that they'll evacuate their workers, including Bangladeshis, to Egyptian border, from Benghazi," Bangladesh ambassador to Libya ABM Nuruzzaman told the news agency over phone.
Another two big Korean companies, Hyundai and Dong Ah, are also taking initiatives to evacuate their workers, the ambassador said.
"Anyway, Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres away from Tripoli, is relatively a safe place in Libya," he said adding, "A camp has been set up there and we are advising Bangladeshi nationals to go there, if possible."
The ongoing unrest in Libya is turning into almost a civil war putting the entire oil-rich Mediterranean country into a total chaos.
The ambassador said so far there was no report of death of any Bangladeshi in Libya other than report of injuries.
"I've contacted Red Cross in Libya, and sought its help for the safety and security of Bangladeshis. The situation in Libya is not good as there was no electricity last night (Tuesday night) and I don't know what will happen today," he said.
He said, "The Bangladesh embassy has opened a cell to help the Bangladeshis working there and I visited the embassy today to monitor the overall situation."
Meanwhile, foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes had a meeting with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) head in Bangladesh Rabab Fatima Wednesday morning.
They discussed the possible evacuation of Bangladeshis in Libya, said a source in the ministry.
"Korean companies, including Hyundai, have already contacted the Bangladesh foreign ministry informing it about their intention to shift the Bangladeshis to safer places," he said.
Hyundai has already sent the ministry an email while other companies are contacting the government over phone, he added.