Looming uncertainty over remittance income
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
THE volume of remittance money sent by the Bangladeshi expatriates has been increasing at a faster rate in the recent years and it soared to US dollar 6.0 billion in the last fiscal year from a paltry amount of US dollar 10 million in 1975-76. These figures are official. The amount will be much larger via the underground or informal channel. The contribution of the remittance to the national economy is immense; it helps stabilise financial systems, supports local consumption and real estate and pays for education and healthcare. The remittance money has made also substantial contribution to poverty reduction, particularly in rural areas.
The government of Bangladesh like those in a number of developing countries has become dependent on remittance money. It cannot think of managing the economy without a stable flow of the same which is 200 per cent more than the annual earnings from all export items barring the readymade garments. Last fiscal the number of expatriate Bangladesh workers swelled to about 0.5 million from the earlier annual average of 0.2 to 0.3 million. Basking in oil price boom, the Middle Eastern countries ventured in increased construction and other investment activities and started employing foreign skilled and unskilled workers. Bangladesh, traditionally, has been a major source of unskilled workers employed by the ME countries. The prospects for foreign employment looked further bright during the early part of the current calendar year when Malaysia lifted its prolonged ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers and expressed its willingness to recruit more than 100,000 workers. South Korea also made known to the government its intention to employ a few thousand Bangladesh workers.
But it did not take too long a time to turn things sour. The Malaysian manpower market which, if exploited properly, could be a major source of fund, has now become a nightmarish experience for Bangladesh government as well as job seekers. Because of fraudulence on the part of local manpower agents and so-called employers in Malaysia, hundreds of workers, who have paid a handsome amount of money to recruiters each, have been subjected to harassment, imprisonment, and deportation. Desperate Bangladeshis staged sit-in demonstration in front of the Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur and clashed with law enforcers there. Many workers have already returned home empty-handed after being thoroughly cheated by their recruiters. The situation reached such a stage that Malaysian government has decided to stop recruitment of Bangladeshi workers except for those who have already received employment visas.
What is more worrying is that the situation in the Gulf countries that account for more than 60 per cent of the remittance money is becoming increasing difficult for Bangladesh. More than 200,000 Bangladeshi workers staying illegally in the United Arab Emirates are being sending back home. This would leave a negative impact on the remittance flow. Something more ominous is now progress. The Gulf Cooperation Council summit scheduled for December next will be examining a Bahrain proposal on putting a six-year residency cap on expatriates working in the Gulf countries. If approved, it will be an economic as well as a social disaster for a country like Bangladesh since thousands of workers living in those countries for more than six years would be sent back home and there is no guarantee that their vacant place would be filled up with job seekers from Bangladesh. The reasons behind Bahrain pursuing the proposal on residency cap are the alleged failure of the expatriate workers to assimilate themselves to local cultures and growing unemployment among the own populations of the Gulf countries. If not the first, the second reason deserves priority attention of the governments of the GCC member countries. However, the Gulf countries do need to recognise the fact even without being assimilated to local cultures, the expatriates have made large contributions to their development and there are jobs where expatriates suit better.
The government of Bangladesh like those in a number of developing countries has become dependent on remittance money. It cannot think of managing the economy without a stable flow of the same which is 200 per cent more than the annual earnings from all export items barring the readymade garments. Last fiscal the number of expatriate Bangladesh workers swelled to about 0.5 million from the earlier annual average of 0.2 to 0.3 million. Basking in oil price boom, the Middle Eastern countries ventured in increased construction and other investment activities and started employing foreign skilled and unskilled workers. Bangladesh, traditionally, has been a major source of unskilled workers employed by the ME countries. The prospects for foreign employment looked further bright during the early part of the current calendar year when Malaysia lifted its prolonged ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers and expressed its willingness to recruit more than 100,000 workers. South Korea also made known to the government its intention to employ a few thousand Bangladesh workers.
But it did not take too long a time to turn things sour. The Malaysian manpower market which, if exploited properly, could be a major source of fund, has now become a nightmarish experience for Bangladesh government as well as job seekers. Because of fraudulence on the part of local manpower agents and so-called employers in Malaysia, hundreds of workers, who have paid a handsome amount of money to recruiters each, have been subjected to harassment, imprisonment, and deportation. Desperate Bangladeshis staged sit-in demonstration in front of the Bangladesh mission in Kuala Lumpur and clashed with law enforcers there. Many workers have already returned home empty-handed after being thoroughly cheated by their recruiters. The situation reached such a stage that Malaysian government has decided to stop recruitment of Bangladeshi workers except for those who have already received employment visas.
What is more worrying is that the situation in the Gulf countries that account for more than 60 per cent of the remittance money is becoming increasing difficult for Bangladesh. More than 200,000 Bangladeshi workers staying illegally in the United Arab Emirates are being sending back home. This would leave a negative impact on the remittance flow. Something more ominous is now progress. The Gulf Cooperation Council summit scheduled for December next will be examining a Bahrain proposal on putting a six-year residency cap on expatriates working in the Gulf countries. If approved, it will be an economic as well as a social disaster for a country like Bangladesh since thousands of workers living in those countries for more than six years would be sent back home and there is no guarantee that their vacant place would be filled up with job seekers from Bangladesh. The reasons behind Bahrain pursuing the proposal on residency cap are the alleged failure of the expatriate workers to assimilate themselves to local cultures and growing unemployment among the own populations of the Gulf countries. If not the first, the second reason deserves priority attention of the governments of the GCC member countries. However, the Gulf countries do need to recognise the fact even without being assimilated to local cultures, the expatriates have made large contributions to their development and there are jobs where expatriates suit better.