Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The past two years experienced a rough patch for overseas jobseekers with job markets either shrinking or getting largely shut in some countries. This was accompanied by problems like harassment of migrant workers in host countries, deceitful practices by local manpower agents, imprisonment of undocumented and visa-expired workers, deportation of a large number of them, and last but not least, criminal maltreatment of female workers in some Middle East countries.
A FE report some time ago drew a picture of the state of things. Referring to the host countries' policies restricting foreign workers' employment that dampened the prospect for overseas jobs, the report mentioned that between January and November last year, the number of overseas employments declined to 604,060 from 684,962 in the same period of the year before. About 89 per cent workers migrated to the Arab and Gulf countries while 11 per cent to other countries. The outflow of workers was higher in 2017 when it was 1.0 million. Saudi Arabia, which is the largest destination for Bangladeshi workers, slapped a ban on recruiting foreign workers in 42 trades, which significantly shrunk the scope for jobs there. Because of the ban, a large number of Bangladeshi workers who went there with so-called free visas faced difficulties in getting jobs. Many of them were deported. A total of 55,335 Bangladeshis were deported on various grounds, including expiry of visas, during the January-November period. Of them, 24,281 workers, including women, returned home from Saudi Arabia alone.
A study titled 'Labour Migration Trend Report-2019' released recently by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) said overseas jobs for Bangladeshi workers in 2019 was estimated to fall 10 per cent from that of the previous year. The amount of inward remittance, however, is expected to rise by about 17.05 per cent over the last year to reach US$ 18.19 billion. The study said remittance inflow during the year increased mainly due to the cash incentives provided by the government to encourage migrant workers to send money through formal channels. The study mentioned that overseas jobs for Bangladeshi workers shrank mainly due to the closure of Malaysian labour market.
Government incentive for channelling money through official procedure is not the lone factor for the surge in remittance. Weakening of the taka, too, is a factor. Still, it seems as though we are content to see the money, as some media reports tend to make us believe that things are not bad - so long money keeps flowing and increasing.
The figures of inward remittance appear as regular news stories in the print media, obviously because of its very high stake in the economy since decades. The economic implications of remittance, besides catering to the dire needs of a large segment of the population, are many and diverse, and should in all fairness be looked at positively.
Many conscious citizens are quick to conclude that it is predominantly the government agencies' failure to take an objective and comprehensive view of workers' migration that has turned things from bad to worse, lately. As a result, botched up moves, mostly tentative and indecisive, have done more harm than good for the migrant workers. The migration of women workers may be seen as a case in point. One has reasons to doubt that there was any well thought out plan or homework on the part of the government before deciding to send thousands of unskilled rural women to work in the Middle Eastern countries. There were reportedly no worthwhile moves to ensure their personal and workplace safety, nor was there any binding agreement with the employers to address the many associated welfare issues. What eventually has fallen on the lot of most of these women is not just undesirable but scary. Many have returned with chilly tales of atrocities.
It is needless to reiterate that negligence has made workers' migration at times synonymous with evil practices. The government has failed to rein in the abusive recruitment practices resulting in debt bondage, forced labour and human trafficking by unregulated intermediaries.
What is needed most is a well thought out migration policy. Clearly, sending unskilled workers no longer holds good prospect. When it comes to catering for semi-skilled and skilled jobs, it is critically important to create demand-based skills and upgrade training in keeping with the market-specific needs.
The authorities should go for a comprehensive policy to create a skilled workforce in demand to stay competitive in overseas job markets, envisaging also a tight policy framework regarding recruitment, migration cost, job-related welfare issues etc. Protecting workers through such a policy would require active involvement of the government in ensuring an oversight mechanism. More important perhaps is the government's role to see that the job contracts are not violated in the overseas stations --- salary and welfare packages are duly honoured by employers, work permit and appropriate visas are quickly facilitated by the respective authorities of the host governments.
Recently, a glimmer of optimism has emerged as the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment has reportedly undertaken a project to provide job-specific skills training to 100,000 prospective workers looking for employment in Japan. Central to this initiative is the creation of a specialised "Japan Desk," backed by both governmental and private sector stakeholders from Bangladesh and Japan. Its responsibilities include: (a) assessing Japan's labour market needs, (b) identifying and promoting job opportunities, (c) offering language instruction, conducting digital assessments, and maintaining candidate data, and (d) coordinating with relevant agencies in both countries. This is undoubtedly a promising step, and if successfully implemented, similar initiatives could be extended to other overseas job markets.