Deputy PM of Mauritius wants to visit Dhaka Govt sees little role in saving expats' jobs
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
African island nation Mauritius's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Rashid is willing to visit Bangladesh in September to discuss labour issues, a senior foreign ministry official has said Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
Foreign Ministry Director General M Wahidur Rahman told the news agency that the Bangladesh mission in Kenya in a recent report said the Mauritius government approached Dhaka for Rashid's visit.
"Mauritius deputy prime minister wants to visit Bangladesh sometimes in September. We are working on it," Rahman said.
The director general said Mauritius, according to the report, would continue recruiting female workers from Bangladesh.
According to expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry sources, Bangladeshis constitute 50 per cent of the 20,000 foreigners in the palm-fringed island on the Indian Ocean.
Of the total 10,000 Bangladeshis, 6,000 are male and 4,000 are female workers and most work in the garments industry.
On July 15, Mauritius government asked 6,000 male workers to leave the tiny country, heavily dependent on tourism, due to global economic crises.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Elias Ahmed told the agency Tuesday that Bangladeshi workers were still going to the African country to work mainly in garment industries.
"They will continue recruiting female workers," said Ahmed.
"The Mauritius government has refused to renew the contracts of the male workers fearing economic slide," he said.
Wahidur Rahman said another 1,000 Bangladeshi women had gone to Mauritius in recent months despite the ongoing downturn.
"At present, the number of Bangladeshis has reached 11,000 in Mauritius," said Rahman.
Another report adds: The government has no information on the job cuts of some 6,000 Bangladeshi workers in the Island nation Mauritius.
And even if it did, Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Elias Ahmed said there was very little that could be done to save the jobs of the retrenched workers.
The secretary, however, said the government would do everything possible to secure them.
Reuters, quoting trade unions backing the migrant workers, reported the African nation was to send home thousands of Bangladeshi workers by the end of 2009 in a move to protect local jobs in the downturn-hit textile sector.
Some 6,000 male Bangladeshi workers, 4,000 of whom work in clothing factories, had been ordered to leave within six months, according to union leaders on the palm-fringed island of 1.3 million people.
President of the Confederation for Private Sector Workers of Mauritius Reaz Chuttoo told Reuters Tuesday that 6,000 Bangladeshis including 4,000 working in the textile sector had been ordered to go due to global economic recession.
"We have not received any message about that," Elias Ahmed said.
He said the government would get in touch with the Mauritius authorities to verify the information.
"We have no mission in Mauritius. The workers go there through contracts with companies.
"Therefore, we have little to do to protect their jobs," he said.
Ahmed believed the contracts of the workers might have expired.
Some 12,000 Bangladeshis went to Mauritius since 1992, mostly in the apparel sector.
Bangladesh, still to some extent insulated from the heat of the current global economic downturn, is heavily dependent on the foreign remittances from its wage earners.
Last year, 6.5 million Bangladeshis living abroad sent over 9.0 billion US dollars in remittances.
The government feared that the global economic crises might hamper its steady flow of foreign currencies from the expatriates, as the workers had been facing job losses in the destination countries.
Malaysia this year cancelled over 55,000 visas for Bangladeshi workers owing to economic slowdown there.
Foreign Ministry Director General M Wahidur Rahman told the news agency that the Bangladesh mission in Kenya in a recent report said the Mauritius government approached Dhaka for Rashid's visit.
"Mauritius deputy prime minister wants to visit Bangladesh sometimes in September. We are working on it," Rahman said.
The director general said Mauritius, according to the report, would continue recruiting female workers from Bangladesh.
According to expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry sources, Bangladeshis constitute 50 per cent of the 20,000 foreigners in the palm-fringed island on the Indian Ocean.
Of the total 10,000 Bangladeshis, 6,000 are male and 4,000 are female workers and most work in the garments industry.
On July 15, Mauritius government asked 6,000 male workers to leave the tiny country, heavily dependent on tourism, due to global economic crises.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Elias Ahmed told the agency Tuesday that Bangladeshi workers were still going to the African country to work mainly in garment industries.
"They will continue recruiting female workers," said Ahmed.
"The Mauritius government has refused to renew the contracts of the male workers fearing economic slide," he said.
Wahidur Rahman said another 1,000 Bangladeshi women had gone to Mauritius in recent months despite the ongoing downturn.
"At present, the number of Bangladeshis has reached 11,000 in Mauritius," said Rahman.
Another report adds: The government has no information on the job cuts of some 6,000 Bangladeshi workers in the Island nation Mauritius.
And even if it did, Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Elias Ahmed said there was very little that could be done to save the jobs of the retrenched workers.
The secretary, however, said the government would do everything possible to secure them.
Reuters, quoting trade unions backing the migrant workers, reported the African nation was to send home thousands of Bangladeshi workers by the end of 2009 in a move to protect local jobs in the downturn-hit textile sector.
Some 6,000 male Bangladeshi workers, 4,000 of whom work in clothing factories, had been ordered to leave within six months, according to union leaders on the palm-fringed island of 1.3 million people.
President of the Confederation for Private Sector Workers of Mauritius Reaz Chuttoo told Reuters Tuesday that 6,000 Bangladeshis including 4,000 working in the textile sector had been ordered to go due to global economic recession.
"We have not received any message about that," Elias Ahmed said.
He said the government would get in touch with the Mauritius authorities to verify the information.
"We have no mission in Mauritius. The workers go there through contracts with companies.
"Therefore, we have little to do to protect their jobs," he said.
Ahmed believed the contracts of the workers might have expired.
Some 12,000 Bangladeshis went to Mauritius since 1992, mostly in the apparel sector.
Bangladesh, still to some extent insulated from the heat of the current global economic downturn, is heavily dependent on the foreign remittances from its wage earners.
Last year, 6.5 million Bangladeshis living abroad sent over 9.0 billion US dollars in remittances.
The government feared that the global economic crises might hamper its steady flow of foreign currencies from the expatriates, as the workers had been facing job losses in the destination countries.
Malaysia this year cancelled over 55,000 visas for Bangladeshi workers owing to economic slowdown there.