The government should utilise the wage earners' welfare fund only for migrant workers' well-being, migration experts and rights activists said on Tuesday.
As the fund was created with workers' money, they argued, it should not be used for other purposes.
They also recommended reforming the arbitration process of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) in light with the Arbitration Act 2001.
The speakers made the observations at a workshop hosted by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in the capital.
The event shared strategy documents on Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB), Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) and Arbitration Model for the recruiting agencies.
RMMRU executive director Dr CR Abrar moderated the programme.
He said it should be ensured that the welfare fund is spent directly for the well-being of migrant workers.
Dr Abrar recommended assessment of the performance of Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB) in providing services to migrant workers.
Prof Dr Jamila Chowdhury of law department at Dhaka University said the BMET established the arbitration process of their own.
The country has a separate act for arbitration. So the BMET should follow the act to make the process more focused and worker-friendly.
WEWB director general Gazi Mohammad Julhas said apart from financial support to workers, they also provide money for missions abroad for faster services.
Migrant workers are getting low-cost loans from the PKB. The bank will be able to provide more services when it will start receiving remittances, he added.
RMMRU founding chair Tasneem Siddiqui moderated the last session of the workshop.
She said as the BOESL is ensuring fair practice in the migration process, it should increase the number of overseas aspirants.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry additional secretary (monitoring and enforcement unit) Nazibul Islam and BOESL managing director Maran Kumar Chakraborty, among others, were present there.
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