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
Showing posts with label Bangladesh Mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangladesh Mission. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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
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