What about a regulatory body for manpower sector?
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
BANGLADESHI workers in the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries are increasingly becoming vulnerable to deception, ill-treatment and torture. Deception by recruiting agencies at home or employers abroad has been a recurring event in case of Bangladeshi workers. But the recent police actions against a good number of Bangladeshi workers and their deportation by the government of Kuwait and return of several hundred workers from Malaysia in batches being deceived either by the manpower agents at home or their employers, are among instances that have attracted wider attention. So, it is quite natural for the enlightened section of the society to be seriously concerned about the wellbeing of the Bangladeshi workers who toil hard in distant lands remaining away from their near and dear ones and remit billions of dollars back home annually.
The workers' remittance, which stood at $6.0 billion in 2007, is actually the single largest source of foreign exchange earning. Though the earning of foreign exchange-nearly $8.0 billion in the fiscal 2007-08, from the readymade garments (RMG) export is shown as the largest, the actual earning from it becomes much lower if one takes into consideration the value addition content. While taking note of the contribution of the expatriate workers to the national economy, more precisely, to the balance of payments (BoP), speakers, who included, among others, an economist, a retired high army official and the head of the association of the recruiting agencies, at a discussion meeting held early this week in Dhaka made scathing criticism of the ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment for its failure to protect the interests of the migrant workers. The indifference of the officials of the Bangladesh missions to the plight of the migrant workers was also noted with grave concern. One speaker even suggested for the formation of a regulatory commission to oversee the manpower export issues.
Unfortunately, the government seems happy enough counting the dollars being remitted by the migrant workers. It has never been serious to address the problems the migrants face before and after their departure. At least, three major issues need to be addressed with utmost urgency. Firstly, there should be all-out efforts to give exemplary punishment to the unscrupulous manpower agents who are primarily responsible for all the sufferings of the migrant workers. Secondly, people seeking to go abroad with jobs should be encouraged to attend vocational training programmes and become skilled and semi-skilled workers. This, if ensured, could help secure more jobs abroad and higher remittance earning. Finally, it should be ensured that the fund being mobilized by the government in the name of welfare of overseas Bangladeshi workers is spent on their short- and long-term welfare.
In case of distress situation following deportation, financial help must be extended to the returnees, at least, for a few months. A part of the financial gains coming from long-term investments being made by the expatriates' welfare fund is needed to be spent on stipends or scholarships for the children studying in schools and colleges and on the healthcare facilities for their families. Given the importance of their remittance money in the national economy, the expatriate workers deserve better deal from the government. There is no denying that the ministry concerned and the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) have utterly failed to protect the interest of the migrant workers. So, the suggestion to have a sort of regulatory body for the sector deserves to be given due consideration.
The workers' remittance, which stood at $6.0 billion in 2007, is actually the single largest source of foreign exchange earning. Though the earning of foreign exchange-nearly $8.0 billion in the fiscal 2007-08, from the readymade garments (RMG) export is shown as the largest, the actual earning from it becomes much lower if one takes into consideration the value addition content. While taking note of the contribution of the expatriate workers to the national economy, more precisely, to the balance of payments (BoP), speakers, who included, among others, an economist, a retired high army official and the head of the association of the recruiting agencies, at a discussion meeting held early this week in Dhaka made scathing criticism of the ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment for its failure to protect the interests of the migrant workers. The indifference of the officials of the Bangladesh missions to the plight of the migrant workers was also noted with grave concern. One speaker even suggested for the formation of a regulatory commission to oversee the manpower export issues.
Unfortunately, the government seems happy enough counting the dollars being remitted by the migrant workers. It has never been serious to address the problems the migrants face before and after their departure. At least, three major issues need to be addressed with utmost urgency. Firstly, there should be all-out efforts to give exemplary punishment to the unscrupulous manpower agents who are primarily responsible for all the sufferings of the migrant workers. Secondly, people seeking to go abroad with jobs should be encouraged to attend vocational training programmes and become skilled and semi-skilled workers. This, if ensured, could help secure more jobs abroad and higher remittance earning. Finally, it should be ensured that the fund being mobilized by the government in the name of welfare of overseas Bangladeshi workers is spent on their short- and long-term welfare.
In case of distress situation following deportation, financial help must be extended to the returnees, at least, for a few months. A part of the financial gains coming from long-term investments being made by the expatriates' welfare fund is needed to be spent on stipends or scholarships for the children studying in schools and colleges and on the healthcare facilities for their families. Given the importance of their remittance money in the national economy, the expatriate workers deserve better deal from the government. There is no denying that the ministry concerned and the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) have utterly failed to protect the interest of the migrant workers. So, the suggestion to have a sort of regulatory body for the sector deserves to be given due consideration.