Migration costs can be reduced thru' controlling intermediaries
FE Report | Friday, 20 June 2008
Speakers at a consultation meet underscored the need for reducing international migration costs by controlling the activities of intermediaries and sub-agents. They also emphasised imparting skills to the migrants.
The observations were made at a national workshop on 'Challenges and Opportunities of Recruitment Industry of Bangladesh' jointly organised by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of Dhaka University and Development Research Centre (DRC) on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty based at the University of Sussex, UK. The workshop was held at the National Press Club Wednesday.
In his address as the chief guest, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Abdul Matin Chowdhury emphasised the need for partnership at various levels between sending and receiving countries, coordination between government ministries and agencies and between the government and the non-government sectors of the sending countries.
The secretary said ways must be found to regulate the intermediaries. He felt that in this ever-competitive international labour market, the negotiating skills of both government functionaries and the recruiting industry leaders needed to be substantially improved.
The success in sending a large number of workers must also be matched by sending highly skilled workers, he noted.
In his address, Dr. C R Abrar of RMMRU of Dhaka University said the international labour market has switched from suppliers' market to receivers' market over the last thirty years.
He said the existence of tiers of intermediaries at both sending and receiving ends has led to massive increase in the cost of migration. He has regretted that the recruiters or the 'kafils' of the receiving countries are largely unaccountable for their ill practices and their governments are reluctant to streamline them.
He proposed that the government should immediately investigate the activities of the intermediaries at the receiving end, many of whom were Bangladeshis. He also demanded that the sub-agents at home be brought under legal framework.
Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Director General Abdul Malek said there has been a major increase in skilled migration from Bangladesh during the last two years. He urged the recruiters to be more active in securing markets for skilled labour.
The observations were made at a national workshop on 'Challenges and Opportunities of Recruitment Industry of Bangladesh' jointly organised by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of Dhaka University and Development Research Centre (DRC) on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty based at the University of Sussex, UK. The workshop was held at the National Press Club Wednesday.
In his address as the chief guest, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Abdul Matin Chowdhury emphasised the need for partnership at various levels between sending and receiving countries, coordination between government ministries and agencies and between the government and the non-government sectors of the sending countries.
The secretary said ways must be found to regulate the intermediaries. He felt that in this ever-competitive international labour market, the negotiating skills of both government functionaries and the recruiting industry leaders needed to be substantially improved.
The success in sending a large number of workers must also be matched by sending highly skilled workers, he noted.
In his address, Dr. C R Abrar of RMMRU of Dhaka University said the international labour market has switched from suppliers' market to receivers' market over the last thirty years.
He said the existence of tiers of intermediaries at both sending and receiving ends has led to massive increase in the cost of migration. He has regretted that the recruiters or the 'kafils' of the receiving countries are largely unaccountable for their ill practices and their governments are reluctant to streamline them.
He proposed that the government should immediately investigate the activities of the intermediaries at the receiving end, many of whom were Bangladeshis. He also demanded that the sub-agents at home be brought under legal framework.
Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Director General Abdul Malek said there has been a major increase in skilled migration from Bangladesh during the last two years. He urged the recruiters to be more active in securing markets for skilled labour.