\\\'Low\\\' wage deal with KSA hot-button issue

Arafat Ara
The agreement with Saudi Arabia to send housemaids at a salary low as 800 Saudi Riyals salary for each has triggered criticism among the migrant rights groups, as workers' interest has not been protected through the deal, they have alleged.  
They, however, have termed resumption of Saudi Arabian job market a remarkable progress, as it was closed for Bangladeshis for a long time.
According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Dhaka and Riyadh, the middle-eastern country will hire 12 categories of workers in housekeeping sector from Bangladesh. Of them, the minimum wage for housemaids has been fixed at 800 Saudi Riyals each (equivalent to Tk 16,564).
The workers under remaining categories will get wages on the basis of their skills and qualifications.
A day before signing the deal Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE) Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told the media that the workers would get 1,500 Saudi Riyals each (equivalent to Tk 31,456). Bangladesh will not send workers, if the kingdom does not offer the wages as has been agreed upon.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) founding chair Tasneem Siddiqui said the government should negotiate with the Saudi authorities concerned for ensuring a standard wage for local workers. The minimum wage can be at least 1,200 riyal for each worker.
She said as India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia stopped sending workers to the oil-rich country, Bangladesh has a better option to bargain about salary.
She also said the market has opened for Bangladeshis, but housekeeping is a sector, where workers' exploitation is very high. "If company visa for workers could be explored, visa trading would stop."
So the resumption of Saudi market is not a very good development for the country, the RMMRU chair opined.
She also urged the authorities concerned not to send female workers abroad without ensuring proper shelters for them, as they are being exploited in various manners.
Bangladeshi Ovibashi Mohila Sromik Association (BOMSA) project coordinator Sumaiya Islam said it is a good sign that the labour market has opened.
"But the salary is very poor for our women, and the ministry as well as the association of private recruiters should negotiate with the employers to increase it."
There is no provision of overtime for the female workers in the MoU, which is also a negative side of the deal, she added.
She also demanded allowing at least one phone call to the female workers each month from the Bangladesh embassy or migrant rights groups to know about their condition.
Anisur Rahman, executive director of International Migrants Alliance (IMA) Research Foundation Bangladesh, said 800 riyals per month is literally a very poor salary for the workers.
He said the workers' security mechanism, to be provided by the employers, is yet unclear. Before sending workers Bangladesh should be clear about their safety measures.
On the other side, Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh, considered the deal 'a good achievement', as a large number of local jobless youth will get the chance to go abroad with jobs.
"Currently unemployment rate is high in the country," he added.
"If we calculate other facilities, like - free accommodation and food, the wage is not very low," said EWOE secretary Khandakar Iftekhar Haidar.
The deal only fixes the minimum salary. Beyond this the workers will also get other benefits in line with their skills, he added.  
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) president Mohammad Abul Bashar said as the Saudi market remained closed for a long time, they emphasised its resumption first.
"But still now we have the opportunities to bargain with the employers to raise salary. And we will do that," he mentioned.
Earlier this month Saudi Arabia lifted a seven-year embargo on hiring Bangladeshis. So far a total of 2.63 million Bangladeshis went to the oil-rich country with jobs. An estimated 1.5 million Bangladeshis are currently employed there.
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