Revamping manpower sector

While much has been written about the students' Anti-Discrimination Movement triggering the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government, less credit has been given to the expatriate workers overseas who helped upend the tyrannical rule and is now poised to play a heroic role in the formation of a new Bangladesh.
From their overseas workplaces, expatriates risked losing their jobs to organise rallies and express solidarity with the students' movement. Many were imprisoned in Oman and the UAE where participation in any kind of demonstration is strictly banned. Those incarcerated in the UAE were freed this week, but are likely to be deported. And, when the Hasina government responded to the peaceful demonstrations with brutal force, the heroic expatriates threatened a remittance strike that would cause embarrassment to the government and severe damage to the economy.
Their actions played a crucial role in undermining the government's legitimacy and ultimately leading to its downfall. As the new Bangladesh moves forward, expatriate workers are expected to continue with their valuable contribution to the nation's rebuilding by remitting their money home through legal channels and not hundi.
The surge in remittance inflow last month indicates the expatriates are eager to participate in the rebuilding of a 'new Bangladesh'. Remittances sent by the expatriates soared nearly 39 per cent higher year-on-year to $2.2 billion, providing a much-needed boost to the country's foreign exchange reserves.
This influx of funds is expected to stimulate economic activity by increasing money circulation and investment. The growing remittance receipts are also expected to have a positive impact on the country's current account. To sustain this trend, it is crucial for the interim government to demonstrate a strong commitment to rebuilding the nation and delivering on its promises.
Furthermore, given the widespread scandalous irregularities and exploitation of expatriate workers in the manpower export sector, the authorities must take a serious look at the entire operation, here and abroad.
If necessary dismantle the system completely and re-assemble it again, but this time ensuring that every worker is given due respect as a remittance-earner, recognised as a valuable contributor to the nation, and the assurance that no outbound worker is cheated or harassed, and their rights are protectected by the Government of Bangladesh.
Despite the vital and crucial role remittances from migrant workers play in driving the country's economy, there's a glaring deficiency in the management of manpower export sector. According to a study by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), 19 per cent of aspirant overseas jobseekers were unable to go abroad despite having paid partial or full migration expenses.
Another 31 per cent reported various forms of harassment after migrating. Some were forced to return home shortly after arriving, without work, pay, or any form of compensation while others endured physical and mental abuse. A number of female workers were subjected to sexual harassment, rape and other forms of exploitation, and even death. This cannot be part of the new Bangladesh.
The Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment needs to put its house in order, reassess, and considerably improve the effectiveness of the District Manpower and Employment Offices (DMEO) and the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) to iron out the problems in the migration process. It should be part of the solution, not an integral part of the problem.
The primary function of the Directorate of Manpower under the Ministry of Expatriate is to provide clearance for outbound workers. Unfortunately, this clearance process is often opaque, excessively lengthy, and wastes valuable time for workers causing them undue stress, unnecessarily. Additionally, various syndicates have formed in Bangladesh's labour market under the guise of this clearance process. For instance, a syndicate of 100 agencies was created last year to target Malaysia's labour market and the ministry in Bangladesh granted clearances to send workers to Malaysia only via exclusively through these 100 agencies.
These allegedly charged an additional BDT 1.5 lakh (or more) per worker. Five lakh workers had already paid the unscrupulous recruiting agencies before Malaysia closed its entire labour market to Bangladeshi workers.
A similar situation arose in Libya, where the opening of the labour market was jeopardised by some agencies, which attempted to form syndicates and dictate what should be charged above the official government fee. It is crucial that the entire immigration processing should be syndication free and totally transparent to ensure fair and ethical recruitment.
There's also a need for making the country's foreign missions proactive in protecting Bangladeshi citizens from harassment and fraud to ensure that their wellbeing and their rights are upheld. Every Bangladeshi worker abroad who remits money to Bangladesh should be seen as an employee of the state. A significant responsibility of Bangladeshi embassies is to provide civic services to the country's expatriate workers. Additionally, another key task is to verify and approve demand letters from companies abroad that are seeking Bangladeshi workers.
But it is alleged that in most cases representatives from the embassy do not visit the companies offering the employment to check out its facilities. Instead, confirmations are often secured through payments based on the number of workers involved and pressure from influential individuals. This flawed verification process offers expatriate workers no protection and perpetuates a system that disadvantages Bangladeshi workers in comparison to their competitors from other countries.
The safety of women in particular should be given paramount importance. Steps should be taken to ensure their safe employment, good working conditions, and provide legal assistance to the abused and unemployed female migrant workers, offering psychological services, creating safe homes in the country of immigration, and supporting children born as a result of sexual abuse, if the need arises.
The Bangladeshi workers abroad could contribute immensely to the economy if the skullduggeries were removed and the system was managed correctly. A country that cannot provide jobs itself owes it to its people to extend every assistance they need in getting work abroad without any hassle or hindrance.
This will be a win-win for Bangladesh, for not only is it helping to provide work for its citizens, but also are they in turn sending home billions to secure and strengthen the nation. Bangladeshis in the main are decent and honest people, hard working, and are popular abroad. They just need a level playing field on which to operate.

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