The government is set to take initiatives to grab the Libyan labour market before a construction boom, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, the labour and employment and expatriates welfare and overseas employment minister, said on Wednesday.
Libya is going to recruit about a million overseas workers in five years to implement its massive development plan and we want to cash in on the prospect of sending our people there, the minister said.
He said that the African nation would become Bangladeshs major manpower export destination in coming years as the authorities there were eager to take significant number of Bangladeshis.
Replying to a query on the probable number of Bangladeshi nationals, who will be sent to Libya, Mosharraf said, We hope to send at least several lakhs of workers in the coming years.
The minister hinted that a high level delegation would visit Libya within a couple of months to start negotiation for exploring the huge potentials in the African country for employment of the Bangladeshi job seekers.
Abdul Matin Chowdhury, secretary of expatriates welfare and overseas employment ministry, told New Age on Friday that Bangladesh had sent a delegation to Libya in 2007 for making assessment of the labour market in that country and found a huge prospect for sending Bangladeshi workers.
The Libyan labour minister during his Dhaka visit last year said his country would recruit a large number of workers from Bangladesh, out of its total demand for about one million overseas workers, in next five years, he added.
About the modality of sending workers, Matin Chowdhury said, As the Libyan authorities do not take foreign workers through government channel, Bangladeshi jobseekers will be recruited through the manpower recruiting agencies.
Mosharraf Hossain informed that the government was likely to constitute a welfare committee, comprising Bangladeshi nationals living in abroad, especially for addressing the grievances of expatriates and properly utilising them for further expansion of the overseas job markets.
He said, We want to address the expatriate workers problem quickly for boosting inflow of remittance and utilise their money for by investment in the country.
The minister also said that he was planning to utilise the Bangladeshi expatriates in further exploration of the overseas job markets.
Apart from Libya, the government would also begin to explore job markets in Greece and some other east-European countries.
We have information that a good number of Greek nationals have started leaving homeland with a hope of changing their lot by staying in different west-European countries. So, we can take the opportunity of filling up that vacuum with Bangladeshi people, he said.
The minister added that there was a growing demand for female workers to take care of the aged persons in the east-European countries, where Bangladesh had a chance to send women jobseekers with proper training and sufficient level of proficiency in English language.
Officials at the expatriates welfare ministry said the government would focus on exploring new job markets as Middle-East countries, the major destinations for the job seekers, already started to become saturated for the Bangladeshi workers in recent years.
Dwelling on the issue of sending manpower to Libya, an official of the ministry preferring anonymity said, We have to ensure that Bangladeshi nationals will stay in Libya after reaching that country and will not cross the Mediterranean for seeking better future in the west-European countries.
Around 5,000 Bangladeshis went to Libya in 2008 to work mainly in the construction sector of Libya.
Source:New Age
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait end Strike
Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait called off their strike after reaching a settlement with employers, said a Bangladesh Embassy official yesterday.
The settlement came after a Kuwaiti newspaper, Arab Times, yesterday reported that an estimated 6,000 workers of two cleaning companies had been on strike since Sunday.
Bangladesh Embassy Labour Counselor Shahriar Kader Siddiky told The Daily Star last evening that they held meetings with one company yesterday and the other on Monday and resolved the issues regarding salary.
These companies said they would need some time to implement the Kuwaiti government's decision of paying KD 40 monthly to the cleaning workers, Siddiky said, adding that the workers went back to work after the assurance of payment.
Thousands of Bangladeshi workers demonstrated in late July demanding pay hike and better working and living conditions prompting Kuwait to fix the minimum wage for foreign cleaning workers without any deductions from the salaries.
"Some companies, however, could not implement the government decision, saying they needed more time because they had to make banking arrangements," the labour counselor said.
Siddiky said many workers however are under the impression that they might be deported, but Kuwait's labour department assured that the country will not allow any victimisation of the innocent workers.
Abdul Hameed, a cleaner participated in the strike, said his company has not been paying salaries to workers for over two months and creating pressures to make them pay the insurance and residency fees, reported the Arab Times yesterday.
Quoting an official of the Bangladeshi Embassy, Arab Times said the residency permit of about 170 Bangladeshi workers of a cleaning company expired and the company refused to renew them.
Source : The Daily Star Dated 20-08-2008
The settlement came after a Kuwaiti newspaper, Arab Times, yesterday reported that an estimated 6,000 workers of two cleaning companies had been on strike since Sunday.
Bangladesh Embassy Labour Counselor Shahriar Kader Siddiky told The Daily Star last evening that they held meetings with one company yesterday and the other on Monday and resolved the issues regarding salary.
These companies said they would need some time to implement the Kuwaiti government's decision of paying KD 40 monthly to the cleaning workers, Siddiky said, adding that the workers went back to work after the assurance of payment.
Thousands of Bangladeshi workers demonstrated in late July demanding pay hike and better working and living conditions prompting Kuwait to fix the minimum wage for foreign cleaning workers without any deductions from the salaries.
"Some companies, however, could not implement the government decision, saying they needed more time because they had to make banking arrangements," the labour counselor said.
Siddiky said many workers however are under the impression that they might be deported, but Kuwait's labour department assured that the country will not allow any victimisation of the innocent workers.
Abdul Hameed, a cleaner participated in the strike, said his company has not been paying salaries to workers for over two months and creating pressures to make them pay the insurance and residency fees, reported the Arab Times yesterday.
Quoting an official of the Bangladeshi Embassy, Arab Times said the residency permit of about 170 Bangladeshi workers of a cleaning company expired and the company refused to renew them.
Source : The Daily Star Dated 20-08-2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
82 workers deported from Jordan to get compensation
US-based Steve and Barry, the buyer of Caliber Garments factory in Jordan, will provide compensation to the factory's 82 Bangladeshi workers deported from Jordan without payment of their arrears.
The deported workers will be given Tk 41,000 each through Hotline Human Rights Bangladesh (HHRB), which received US$50,000 from Steve and Barry via New York Province of the Society of Jesus as compensation.
It was disclosed at a press conference organised by the HHRB at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity yesterday.
Of the 82 deported workers, 35 were given Tk 41,000 each as compensation yesterday while the rest will be given money within two weeks.
About 200 Bangladeshi workers of Caliber Garments were deported from Jordan between January and February this year after they demanded payment of arrears.
The deported workers said they were forced to do overtime for six to eight hours without payment.
Although the company was bound to provide them with accommodation, meal and medical treatment as per the contract, it did not comply with the agreement They also alleged that the factory authorities had deducted 26 Jordanian Dinar from their salaries for meal violating the contract.
In a written statement, HHRB coordinator Rozalin Costa said when they learnt about the repression on Bangladeshi workers, they approached US-based National Labour Committee.
The Committee then asked Steve and Barry to investigate the allegations brought by the deported workers. A five-member delegation from the company arrived in Dhaka on March 28 this year and talked to the deported workers.
Later, the delegation made a proposal for providing the deported workers with compensation, added Rozalin.
Mahinura Akter Mariam, a deported worker, said the company authorities sent her back to Bangladesh without paying arrears worth about Tk 2 Lakh.
"We were confined to the dormitory after the company authorities came to know that we had sought help from the labour ministry in Jordan, " she added.
Human rights activist Rafiqul Alam and deported Bangladeshi workers, among others, were present.
Source:The Daily Star Dated 2008-08-14
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Lack of assistance from BD mission officials - Manpower export may face set back
Country's manpower export will face serious set back in near future as Bangladeshi people working in different foreign countries don't get necessary assistance from the officials of the Bangladesh missions when they fall in trouble.
At a discussion meeting organized by Citizens Right's Movement on Wednesday, the speakers said, "In most cases, self-seeking recruiting agencies allure the unemployed youths with the assurance that if they want to go abroad for earning more money the agencies will provide all sorts of supports. They say that the workers will be highly paid by their prospective foreign employers. Exploiting the helpless of the unemployed young men, these agencies extract huge amount of money from them and send them abroad."
But as soon as they reach their desired foreign countries, sufferings and harassment start in many ways. Even, many of them are forcibly sent back home from the airport or sent to jails for not having valid document. After being harassed and manhandled, when they try to contact with their recruiting agencies, they also fail to trace their (recruiting agencies) whereabouts. Later, they go to Bangladesh High Commission for seeking help but the officials of the mission instead of helping the ill-fated youths, start insulting and mistreating them. As a result on the one hand, the youths are being cheated and on the other, image of Bangladesh abroad, is being tarnished. And if this trend continues, foreign countries will not show interest to import manpower from Bangladesh.
Former Government Secretary and BTRC Chairman Margub Morshed said these workers are sending remittances through hard labour in foreign lands which increase the foreign exchange reserves of the country. So the government should be attentive to the workers' welfare and also take immediate punitive action against recruiting agencies who send the job-seekers abroad illegally.
Former Member of Parliament GM Kader said the expatriates are being harassed and deceived abroad in many ways. In most cases they are not well educated and skilled for the jobs and lack of knowledge about the local language throw them into great frustration. In this regard only Government can take necessary measures and protect the expatriates. But most of the successive governments have failed to do this as corruption is rampant among the officials of Bangladesh missions abroad who are interested more in making fortunes by colluding with dishonest recruiting agents, than in looking after the welfare of the expatriates, specially at the time of crisis.
According to the government sources about 45 lakh and 50 thousand Bangladeshis are working abroad on short term basis specially in the Middle East while about two lakh people are living in Europe, America and Australia on long term basis. In 2006-07 fiscal year they remitted over TK 42 thousand crore.
Source: The Bangladesh Today Dated 2008-08-14
At a discussion meeting organized by Citizens Right's Movement on Wednesday, the speakers said, "In most cases, self-seeking recruiting agencies allure the unemployed youths with the assurance that if they want to go abroad for earning more money the agencies will provide all sorts of supports. They say that the workers will be highly paid by their prospective foreign employers. Exploiting the helpless of the unemployed young men, these agencies extract huge amount of money from them and send them abroad."
But as soon as they reach their desired foreign countries, sufferings and harassment start in many ways. Even, many of them are forcibly sent back home from the airport or sent to jails for not having valid document. After being harassed and manhandled, when they try to contact with their recruiting agencies, they also fail to trace their (recruiting agencies) whereabouts. Later, they go to Bangladesh High Commission for seeking help but the officials of the mission instead of helping the ill-fated youths, start insulting and mistreating them. As a result on the one hand, the youths are being cheated and on the other, image of Bangladesh abroad, is being tarnished. And if this trend continues, foreign countries will not show interest to import manpower from Bangladesh.
Former Government Secretary and BTRC Chairman Margub Morshed said these workers are sending remittances through hard labour in foreign lands which increase the foreign exchange reserves of the country. So the government should be attentive to the workers' welfare and also take immediate punitive action against recruiting agencies who send the job-seekers abroad illegally.
Former Member of Parliament GM Kader said the expatriates are being harassed and deceived abroad in many ways. In most cases they are not well educated and skilled for the jobs and lack of knowledge about the local language throw them into great frustration. In this regard only Government can take necessary measures and protect the expatriates. But most of the successive governments have failed to do this as corruption is rampant among the officials of Bangladesh missions abroad who are interested more in making fortunes by colluding with dishonest recruiting agents, than in looking after the welfare of the expatriates, specially at the time of crisis.
According to the government sources about 45 lakh and 50 thousand Bangladeshis are working abroad on short term basis specially in the Middle East while about two lakh people are living in Europe, America and Australia on long term basis. In 2006-07 fiscal year they remitted over TK 42 thousand crore.
Source: The Bangladesh Today Dated 2008-08-14
Saturday, August 9, 2008
5000 Bangladeshi workers released in Jordan
Jordan released around 5000 Bangladeshi workers who were punished for overstaying in that country, said a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday.The amnesty was granted for 6040 foreign workers, of whom 80 percent are Bangladeshis, a handout said. “This has been possible following Bangladesh's lobbying for the last few months,” it said.
The government expects that Bangladeshis will be able to draw attention of the new projects in Jordan that requires many more foreign workers and Jordan will become a significant labour market for Bangladesh, the handout added.
Source:The Daily Star 2008-04-09
Friday, August 8, 2008
4 Bangladeshi workers burnt alive in Saudi Arabia
Four Bangladeshi workers were burnt alive in sleep when a fire engulfed their house in the Saudi Arabian city of Dammam, 600 km from the capital Riyadh, on Friday, a witness said.
‘The dead are Hafizur Rahman Titu, Shafiq, Sattar and Abdul Kader,’ Mahmud Hossain Palash, their neighbour, told New Age over phone Friday night.
‘All of them are above 32 and drivers by profession. Of them Hafizur and Shafiq were from Faridpur district while Sattar from Dohar in Dhaka’, he said adding, ‘The permanent address of Abdul Kader could not be ascertained as yet. I have heard that he used to live in a rented house at Jatrabari in Dhaka.’
‘The fire is believed to have originated from a gas burner at a kitchen at about 12:30 pm (Saudi standard time) and quickly engulfed the room as they were asleep’, said Mahmud Hossain who said his residence was about 50 yards from the place.
‘Police have taken away the charred bodies at about 2:30 pm’, he said.
Source: New Age of 09-08-2008
‘The dead are Hafizur Rahman Titu, Shafiq, Sattar and Abdul Kader,’ Mahmud Hossain Palash, their neighbour, told New Age over phone Friday night.
‘All of them are above 32 and drivers by profession. Of them Hafizur and Shafiq were from Faridpur district while Sattar from Dohar in Dhaka’, he said adding, ‘The permanent address of Abdul Kader could not be ascertained as yet. I have heard that he used to live in a rented house at Jatrabari in Dhaka.’
‘The fire is believed to have originated from a gas burner at a kitchen at about 12:30 pm (Saudi standard time) and quickly engulfed the room as they were asleep’, said Mahmud Hossain who said his residence was about 50 yards from the place.
‘Police have taken away the charred bodies at about 2:30 pm’, he said.
Source: New Age of 09-08-2008
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