Social safeguards can offset impact of migrants' influx
Saturday, 28 March 2009
A Z M Anas
With the global downturn increasingly crimping demand for labour, a top IOM official has said Bangladesh needs to map out plans for the potential "reintegration" of return migrants into the local job market and economy.
"You should plan social and economic safety net measures (for returnees) considering the likely impact this year," said Rabab Fatima, regional representative with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
"The Task Force just formed by the government and its willingness to consider provisions in the next national budget for the recession should also consider offsetting the negative impacts of recession on migrant workers," she added.
Providing returnees with small loans could be an option, Ms Fatima said, allowing them to start micro-businesses.
Her comments come as Bangladeshi overseas workers are facing job cuts in major economies across the world, buffeted by the worst economic crisis in many decades.
Falling petroleum prices and global crisis have cooled the economies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, delivering a blow to the Gulf's booming construction sector that employed the bulk of Bangladeshi workers. Last year, UAE and Saudi Arabia became the two biggest employers of Bangladeshi workers.
The Gulf economies are also important for the Bangladesh economy as they account for 63 per cent of the country's total flow of remittances.
An estimated 8.0 million Bangladeshis live and work abroad, remitting US$8.9 billion last year, the second biggest flow after the country’s exports. The flow of remittances dwarfs other inflows of foreign exchange, notably private investment and overseas aid.
Over the years, money sent home by expatriates has become a crucial prop for the Bangladesh economy, helping it to offset any potential strain on balance of payments (BoP).
So far this month, nearly 5000 Bangladeshis returned home, mostly from the UAE's emirate of Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia, according to IMA Research Foundation, a local migrants' rights group.
But a top overseas employment official disputed Friday with the figures, saying the country's overseas job market remained "unhurt," even if the economic avalanche hit its major workers' destinations including the UAE, Malaysia and Singapore.
"The figures of migrants who have returned from these countries in recent months still indicate a normal phenomenon. The similar trend was there in the corresponding period of 2007 and 2008," said Elias Ahmed, secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.
But Mr Ahmed said the government is weighing up options for social safety nets for the return migrants, given the future influx of migrants.
He did not elaborate the steps to be taken to help stave off the impact of workers' retrenchment abroad.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN body, warned that as many as 200 million workers could be pushed into extreme poverty, with more than 50 million jobs set to be lost worldwide.
Given that in mind, the IOM official said workers' movement across borders should not be discouraged, as it makes economies more dynamic and efficient in both host and destination countries.
"The government, for instance, could try to negotiate with the major host countries to promote with their employers not to retrench migrant workers first. Even if they have to lay off migrant workers, they could try to promote referral system," the IOM executive said.
Ms Fatima urged the government to aggressively explore newer overseas job markets, especially to countries not affected by the global economic crisis.
"Systematic market research could help in identifying these markets," she said
The IOM official said the government through its foreign missions should also develop mechanisms to monitor the outflow as well as the inflow of migrant workers, especially to and from the countries heavily affected by the global financial crisis.
"Migration is part of globalisation and it affects global economy. So the recession affects both developed and developing countries, where poorer states are more vulnerable," she told the FE.
Saying that the government and all actors need to be aware of the gender dimension of the crisis, she noted that it would impact on male and female migrants with different degrees of vulnerability.
"Measures to address the issue should take this gender perspective into account," she added.
With the global downturn increasingly crimping demand for labour, a top IOM official has said Bangladesh needs to map out plans for the potential "reintegration" of return migrants into the local job market and economy.
"You should plan social and economic safety net measures (for returnees) considering the likely impact this year," said Rabab Fatima, regional representative with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
"The Task Force just formed by the government and its willingness to consider provisions in the next national budget for the recession should also consider offsetting the negative impacts of recession on migrant workers," she added.
Providing returnees with small loans could be an option, Ms Fatima said, allowing them to start micro-businesses.
Her comments come as Bangladeshi overseas workers are facing job cuts in major economies across the world, buffeted by the worst economic crisis in many decades.
Falling petroleum prices and global crisis have cooled the economies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, delivering a blow to the Gulf's booming construction sector that employed the bulk of Bangladeshi workers. Last year, UAE and Saudi Arabia became the two biggest employers of Bangladeshi workers.
The Gulf economies are also important for the Bangladesh economy as they account for 63 per cent of the country's total flow of remittances.
An estimated 8.0 million Bangladeshis live and work abroad, remitting US$8.9 billion last year, the second biggest flow after the country’s exports. The flow of remittances dwarfs other inflows of foreign exchange, notably private investment and overseas aid.
Over the years, money sent home by expatriates has become a crucial prop for the Bangladesh economy, helping it to offset any potential strain on balance of payments (BoP).
So far this month, nearly 5000 Bangladeshis returned home, mostly from the UAE's emirate of Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia, according to IMA Research Foundation, a local migrants' rights group.
But a top overseas employment official disputed Friday with the figures, saying the country's overseas job market remained "unhurt," even if the economic avalanche hit its major workers' destinations including the UAE, Malaysia and Singapore.
"The figures of migrants who have returned from these countries in recent months still indicate a normal phenomenon. The similar trend was there in the corresponding period of 2007 and 2008," said Elias Ahmed, secretary to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.
But Mr Ahmed said the government is weighing up options for social safety nets for the return migrants, given the future influx of migrants.
He did not elaborate the steps to be taken to help stave off the impact of workers' retrenchment abroad.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), a UN body, warned that as many as 200 million workers could be pushed into extreme poverty, with more than 50 million jobs set to be lost worldwide.
Given that in mind, the IOM official said workers' movement across borders should not be discouraged, as it makes economies more dynamic and efficient in both host and destination countries.
"The government, for instance, could try to negotiate with the major host countries to promote with their employers not to retrench migrant workers first. Even if they have to lay off migrant workers, they could try to promote referral system," the IOM executive said.
Ms Fatima urged the government to aggressively explore newer overseas job markets, especially to countries not affected by the global economic crisis.
"Systematic market research could help in identifying these markets," she said
The IOM official said the government through its foreign missions should also develop mechanisms to monitor the outflow as well as the inflow of migrant workers, especially to and from the countries heavily affected by the global financial crisis.
"Migration is part of globalisation and it affects global economy. So the recession affects both developed and developing countries, where poorer states are more vulnerable," she told the FE.
Saying that the government and all actors need to be aware of the gender dimension of the crisis, she noted that it would impact on male and female migrants with different degrees of vulnerability.
"Measures to address the issue should take this gender perspective into account," she added.