Job prospects, well-being of migrant workers

The International Labour Organization (ILO)'s  recently released World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) report portrays a rather grim picture about the state of youth employment in Bangladesh. This is more so, as according to the outgoing country director of ILO, Bangladesh, who said, 'Global contraction of jobs is of grave concern, especially for Bangladesh which is undergoing political, economic, social and climatic transitions and sends over a million workers abroad'.

In this connection, going by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)'s recently published Quarterly Labour Force data, in the second quarter of fiscal FY25, Bangladesh's unemployment rose to 4.63 per cent. The reason is, it says, the number of people unable to get a job was growing. So, the prospect for Bangladeshi workers to get overseas jobs looks less promising seeing that the ILO in its global employment forecast for 2025 projected the creation of only 53 million jobs which is 7.0 million fewer than 60 million forecasted earlier. Against this backdrop of declining trend in overseas job prospects for Bangladeshi workers, according to a news report, Japan, a highly industrialized Asian country, is going to recruit 100,000 workers from Bangladesh in the next five years is undoubtedly heartwarming.

In this connection, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)are learnt to have been signed with Bangladesh's Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), a department under the Ministry of Manpower Development and Social Welfare. The organizations that signed the MoUs with BMET are Kaikom Dream Street (KDS) BD Co, Ltd.---a Japan-Bangladesh joint venture company. The second MoU, on the other hand, was signed between BMET and Japan's National Business Support Combined Cooperatives (NBCC), a Japanese federation representing some 65 companies and the Japan Bangla Bridge Recruiting Agency (JBBRA). Obviously, the private initiatives are recogised both by the governments of Japan and Bangladesh regarding Bangladeshi workers' recruitment in Japan. The importance of these events lies in the fact that unlike in the case of Western job markets, Bangladeshi job-seekers are not unwelcome due to restrictive immigration policy. Neither are they (Bangladeshi workers) endangering their lives at the hands of the illicit human traffickers.

The findings of a survey held some months back in Japan reveal that 57 per cent of the 3,500 companies which were interviewed, admitted that they hired foreign workers as they (Japanese companies) believed foreign workers could perform equally or even better than Japanese workers. In fact, this is a big shift in Japanese employers' mindset since in the past, the foreign workers who arrived in Japan on 'technical interim' visas got low-paid jobs. But the attitude has changed for the better over the years, thanks to Japan's declining population. The Japanese population including foreign nationals fell by 550,000 to 123.8 million in 2024.  This marked the straight 14th year of decline in that country's population. In 2022, for instance, Japan's working age population (between 15 and 64 years of age) shrank by 296,000 to 74.2 million.

It is further projected that by 2060, the working age population would further decline to 47.95 million in Japan. Similarly, the labour force is projected to contract by 24 per cent or 16.1 million by 2050. Such a demographic regression in an advanced industrial nation is only expected. All industrially advanced nations are facing similar demographic crises. But when in Europe and North America, some politicians are whipping up anti-immigrant prejudice and obstructing entry of foreign workers, Japan has adopted the policy of welcoming them. However, unlike the job markets in the Gulf Arab states where most of Bangladesh's unskilled labour force has been traditionally destined, the Japanese labour market has practically no place for unskilled, or semi-skilled workers. Another barrier is the language. But the good news is that  the Japanese companies willing to take Bangladeshi workers have come forward in this regard. The KDS that signed a MoU with BMET, for instance, will set up a specialised training cell at the Monohardi Technical Training Centre (MTTC). This facility will be under the Japan's Technical Training Program (TTIP) and Specified Skilled Workers (SSO) Initiative and operate by the name of Dream Street Business Training  Center (DSBTC). The other MoU signed with NBCC and JBBRA, as noted in the foregoing, on a model training centre, styled, Bhalo Chakri Training Centre, will be set up under the TTIP and SSWO programmes. What is very interesting to note  in this connection is that that different representatives of the Japanese industrial groups including the chairman of NBCC, Mikio Kasagayama, and the director of the Shizuoka Workplace Development Cooperative, Mitsuru Matsuhita, have openly expressed their choice about the skilled, young workers from Bangladesh.

This is a clear message from the Japanese corporate world that Japan, unlike other rich nations, industrialised or otherwise, will not be an apathetic or even hostile workplace for Bangladeshi workers. Given its aging population, the country is going to import an increasing number of foreign workers in the coming days. In that case, the government should expand the skills training facilities and Japanese language courses. Being a labour-surplus nation, Bangladesh should make the most of this opportunity.

While celebrating the widening prospects for job opportunities for our workers in Japan or any other overseas destinations, the government should not lose sight of the fact that the Bangladeshi expatriate workers are not mere hard currency earning machines. Their and their families' well-being should also be of equal concern, especially for the Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in the host countries.  A recent report by the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU), an organization working for better governance and services in the migration sector, came up with some shocking statistics about the deaths of expatriate workers abroad. It says, 31 per cent of these migrant workers die unnatural deaths in their host countries. Of these deaths, 16 per cent reportedly die in accidents, while 15 per cent commit suicide. But some 48 per cent of the families and relatives of the dead migrant workers have no faith in the death certificates issued by the authorities concerned of the host  countries. Analysing the RMMRU report, a discussion event on the issue last week in the city, pointed out that the average age of the accident and suicide victims is 37 years. In some cases, the deaths are caused under dubious circumstances. No further post-mortem examinations are done in Bangladesh after the dead migrant workers' arrive in Bangladesh, though some corpses show marks of injury. Since challenging death certificates of the victim workers issued by the host government might be a sensitive issue, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s involvement and its guidance need to be ensured in this case.

In sum, of all the concerns often expressed about the expatriate workers and their status, the ones about their personal well-being should take centre stage.

sfalim.ds@gmail.com