North South University

Case Study 04

Developing Bangladeshi Workers for the Development of the World

HRM430.01

Group B

Submitted to

Tajuddin Ahmed
Lecturer
School of Business & Economics
Submitted by:
Name ID
Prity Rahman 142 1130 030
Raju Paul 142 1738 030
Afrida taiba 141 1758 630
Arshad Mahmood 131 0122 030

Date of Submission

18th March, 2019

 Developing Bangladeshi Workers for the Development of the World
Sheikh Hasina the Prime Minister of Bangladesh called the labor minister Mr. Mazibul
Haque and Foreign Minister Dr. AKM Abdul Monem on the basis of the information from
the foreign ministry. Prime Minister is happy and concerned about the current foreign money
earned through Bangladeshi labors and she wants to make it double by the end of next 4
years.

Sheikh Hasina believe that if labor minister Mr. Mazibul Haque and Foreign Minister Dr
AKM Abdul Monem can work together then Bangladeshi foreign worker's salary, wages,
benefits, health safety etc. will increase . Labor Minister and Foreign Minister both are
enough qualified for negotiate with foreign Employers who are paying less salary, wages and
other facilities.

Labor Minister’s Role and Qualifications

Mazibul Haque has already taken a lot of steps for the development of Bangladeshi
workforce. He was elected President of the Kishoreganj District unit of jatiyo Party. He was
elected to parliament as a candidate of Jatiya Party from Kishoreganj-03 in 1986. He was re-
elected in 1988. From August 1987 to 1988, he served as the Deputy Minister of Land. He
was elected to parliament again in 2008 and 2014. From 21 November 2013 to 12 January
2014, he was the State Minister of Youth and Sports. He was appointed the State Minister of
Labor and Employment because he has enough experience to deal with the current problems
in work sector both in national and international market.

Foreign Minister's Role and Qualifications

Dr. AKM Abdul Monem has that much experience to negotiate with the foreign countries for
the betterment of Bangladeshi workers. He became a civil servant, serving as Private
Secretary to the Minister of Rural Development, Local Government and Cooperatives from
1973 to 1974; Private Secretary to the Minister of Trade and Commerce, and Mineral
Resources and Petroleum from 1974 to 1975; Section Officer, South Asia, East Asia and
Middle East, Ministry of Commerce from 1975 to 1976; and Director, Office of the
President's Advisor on Trade and Commerce from 1976 to 1978.

Dr. AKM Abdul Momen continued his education in the United States, receiving a PhD in
economics from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, in 1988. He taught
economics and business administration at Merrimack College, Salem State College,
Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts, and the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University. In 1998, he became an economic adviser at the Saudi
Industrial Development Fund (SIDF).

PM Sheikh Hasina believes that labor Minister and Foreign minister both can solve the labor
related problems in the international market and increase the facilities for foreign
Bangladeshi workers and employees.

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Past Achievement of Earing a Huge Foreign Currencies

Since 2016, about 200,000 Bangladeshi workers went to Malaysia under this system
compared to about 12,000 under the G2G between 2012 and 2016. In the first eight months
of 2018, around 300,000 Bangladeshis went to the Middle East. Last year about 550,000
Bangladeshis went to Saudi Arabia on work visas and started to earn a lot of money. Future
Prediction of Earning Foreign Currencies by Bangladeshi Workers

Future Prediction of Earning Foreign Currencies by Bangladeshi Workers

A recent report compiled by the GIZ/ILO concluded that migrant trends in the Middle East,
KSA and wider GCC region, are likely to remain consistent within the foreseeable future.
While there are a number of factors that may produce fluctuations in demand, or
diversification within established sectors, the overall picture is likely to be ‗more of the same‘
with construction workers and related occupations forming the majority of the required
workforce. The construction of ‗six or more economic and industrial cities‘ by 2020, as well
as two subway systems and the world‘s tallest building, are likely to maintain, and possibly
increase, demand for construction workers in Saudi Arabia. Economic diversification into
―green‖ construction, for example advanced water treatment systems and solar panels, may
create further opportunities for Bangladeshi workers with specific technical and vocational
skills.

Japan is Set to Recruit 10,000 Bangladeshi Workers

For its construction, care-giving and nursing sectors, and said officials. A Japanese company
delegation visited the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (EWOE)
on to discuss recruitment of workers from Bangladesh. The delegation assured of recruiting a
significant number of Bangladeshi workers for their construction, care-giving and nursing
sectors. The number of recruitment will not be less than 10,000. After getting visa
Bangladesh will complete all procedures relating to manpower export within one month.

Bangladesh has a Database of Skilled Workers

If necessary the employers will also train up the workers, as Japanese language is required for
securing jobs there. The number of and demand for Bangladeshi workers in the Asian country
will gradually increase. Earlier, Japan recruited manpower mainly from China. But China is
now discouraging manpower export due to increase in local demand for the same. Besides,
Chinese workers are demanding higher wages. Japan needs about 75,000 foreign workers
within the next five years, following gradual rise in number of aged people, rehabilitation
program for tsunami-affected areas and hosting Olympic and Paralympic in 2020.

Foreign Minister Seeks Effective Solutions for Bangladeshi Foreign Labor Problems

New Foreign Minister has sought active collaboration and partnership from all to achieve
core foreign policy goals with the solid base in place - trust and sovereignty - focusing on
economic diplomacy and regional relations. Foreign minister wants to work as a team as
there are many challenges ahead mentioning that partnership is very important.

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The newly appointed foreign minister had served as the Ambassador and Bangladesh
Permanent Representative to the UN in New York with concurrent accreditation to the
Republic of Chile and the Republic of Peru that‘s why he know how to negotiate with foreign
employers who are giving jobs to Bangladeshi workers. Bangladesh is following
Bangabandhu's foreign policy and stated the government will continue to follow this being
friends with all countries.

Foreign Minister Wants to Give a Boost to its "Economic Diplomacy"

As it is an important global economy and will negotiate with foreign countries to

increase the salary, wages, and benefits for Bangladeshi workers.
Foreign minister will seat for a negotiation with Foreign Ministry of Middle east
because Middle East, KSA they all are paying less Bangladeshi workers
Saudi Arabia and Middle East is one of the largest labor markets in the world with 11
million foreign workers from more than 100 countries represented in many sector and
fields of work.

Man Power Exports to Middle Eastern Countries Drop by 48℅

In 2017 due to lower skill labor the Govt. can train these employees in some specific sectors
that are suitable for these Middle East countries and make these employees more skill full.

KSA, Middle east, Malaysia and in other foreign countries the rate of labor torture is more
than 52℅ and the rate is increasing day by day, that‘s why negotiation is important here.

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Bangladeshis in the Middle East form the Largest Part of the Worldwide Bangladeshi
Diaspora

Out of the 3,975,550 Bangladeshis abroad approximately 2,820,000 live within the Middle
East, 0.075% of the Middle East population, with half of them in Saudi Arabia, and a quarter
of them in the United Arab Emirates. Bangladeshis who come to the Middle East are
primarily guest workers or day laborers. Bangladesh is one of the largest labor suppliers to
Saudi Arabia, in 2007 Bangladeshi workers obtained the biggest share, with 23.50 percent of
the 1.5 million Saudi Arabia visas issued that's why negotiation is important here for
increasing the salaries and facilities of our workers and by this Bangladesh Government can
increase its foreign currency income.

Overseas Employment is the Major Source of Bangladeshi Workers

Foreign ministry should inspire Bangladeshi workers to get a minimum education before go
to foreign countries. Foreign workers flow is positively correlated with gross domestic
product growth in Bangladesh and the long-term trend has continued to be positive for more
than 2 decades as economic growth has accelerated and foreign ministry have to introduce
required training for works who want to work in foreign countries.

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Migrant Workers’ Remittances to Bangladesh are a Significant Source of Foreign
Exchange

Migrant workers‘ remittances to Bangladesh are a significant source of foreign exchange

that‘s why foreign ministry should motivate Bangladeshi workers for going foreign countries
and make more contribute for Bangladesh. High costs of migration brought on by high
recruitment fees and charges by intermediaries make access to migration opportunities highly
skewed in favor of the upper-income groups.

Bilateral agreements between the sending and receiving countries, the recognition of skills of
foreign workers, and the governance of the recruitment process and deployment of overseas
workers are critical factors to further support overseas employment in Bangladesh and some
complicated policy have to change by foreign ministry so that more workers can go to earn
foreign currency.

Bangladesh Intends to Increase the Share of Skilled Workers in Overseas Employment

An important first step is to be able to have potential workers with skills that are in demand in
destination countries. This, in turn, involves the ability to produce qualifications that are
internationally recognized. Training facilities need to be upgraded and international
recognition of certificates obtained. The perception of Bangladesh as a supplier of unskilled
and low-skilled workers alone also needs to change. Bilateral contracts, marketing of
available skills, and showcasing of cutting-edge skills-training facilities (once they can be
demonstrated), would be necessary to address this issue and Foreign ministry must ensure
training and educating Bangladeshi workforce with new and effective methods.

Bangladeshi Workers are in Serious Challenges Remain

Bangladeshi workers are in serious challenges remain, especially in the rights and welfare of
migrant workers. Siddiqui (2005) noted that institutional arrangements to ensure the rights at
work for Bangladesh foreign workers are poor, most labor-receiving countries not having
ratified the international instruments on the rights of foreign workers. Siddiqui posited that
even at the country level the enactment of various laws since 1976 has failed to reduce the
exploitation of potential Bangladeshi foreign workers, even in accessing work. ILO (2010)
noted that migration is beset with abuses and exploitation that include high costs and fees,
attachment to a stipulated employer, and divergence between contractual obligations and real
conditions at work. Workers with low education and no skills, and women especially as
domestic help, are particularly vulnerable these problems have to solve as soon as possible by
foreign ministry.

Bangladesh Sends Millions of Workers Abroad

The number of demand for Bangladeshi workers in the Asian country will gradually increase.
Bangladesh sends one million migrant workers in 2017. A total of 21,657,632 Bangladeshi
migrant workers went abroad for work. The percentage of unskilled labor export is still very
high, ―50% of the overseas employment from 1976-2015 were unskilled. Even last year 43%
of the overseas employments were of unskilled labor.‖
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 The government has undertaken a special programmed for
rehabilitation of the expatriate workers who have returned
home. Besides, several developed countries expressed their
interest in taking skilled and semi-skilled workers from
Bangladesh.

Bangladeshis to Get Overseas Jobs

The government is helping to develop skilled workers in 48 different trades and also has 70
technical training centers (TTC) for such development. It is also constructing 40 training
centers at upazila level with 50 more in the pipeline. In 2016, a total of 7,57,731 Bangladeshi
workers went abroad with job, while the number was 5,55,881 in 2015. Currently about 1.3
crore Bangladeshis are employed in 162 countries and they remit annually over US$ 15
billion to the country. Social awareness is essential to ensure safe immigration because many
workers are going abroad without receiving
proper knowledge. The present trend of
overseas employment as well as attaining the
government's target of sustainable development
goals. The government has a plan to explore
new labor markets as well as open new labor
wings, where a significant number of
Bangladeshi workers are employed, for
ensuring their welfare. At present, 29 labor
wings are working aboard.

Japan to Recruit Trained Bangladeshi Workers

Japanese labor market for Bangladeshi

workers will be opened up as Expatriates.
Japan has showed interest to recruit skilled
workers from Bangladesh and a MOU
signed between Bangladesh and Japan.
Japan recruited manpower mainly from
China. But China is now discouraging
manpower export due to increase in local
demand for the same. Besides, Chinese workers are demanding higher wages. Japan is
searching alternative markets for manpower hiring. It is very much willing to recruit workers
from Bangladesh. Japan needs about 75,000 foreign workers within the next five years,
following gradual rise in number of aged people, rehabilitation programmed for tsunami-
affected areas and hosting Olympic and Paralympics in 2020.Bangladesh is working to tap a
significant share of the employment opportunity there. A permanent Japanese language
training center was also inaugurated.

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Bangladesh Gets Offer from 12 Countries

Also 9.73 lakh Bangladeshi workers including some 1.18 lakh female workers got
employment opportunities in various countries of the world. At least 12 countries, including
Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China, have offered highly-paid job of caregivers for
Bangladeshis. Bangladesh has signed deals with the foreign recruiting companies to send
caregivers after six-month training in the job and spoken languages of the recipient countries.

The caregivers are highly-paid workers who commonly address and give service for
impairments related to old-age, disability, disease, or mental disorder in the highly developed
countries in Asia, Europe and America. The government takes effective measures for
grooming skilled caregivers with good command of country-specific spoken languages to
grab the opportunity. Japan had a shortage of manpower in care giving sector. If anybody
passed N3 in Bangladesh, it is easy to enter Japan as Japanese caregiving centers are looking
for recruits in this sector. Usually the amount will be more than 1,50,000 yen per month
equivalent to Tk 1,17,000 per month.

Labor Migration in Bangladesh

The million migrant workers go to several destination countries every year with the hope of a
better life. There are around 247 million international migrants in the world of which 48
percent are women. Bangladesh is one of the top five migrant-sending countries in the world;
when it comes to remittance, it is one of the top ten recipient countries. Most countries
including Bangladesh are in the process to reach a consensus on safe, dignified and orderly
migration. At the same time, policymakers are showing greater interest in labor migration
issues and different stakeholders are advocating for the rights of migrant workers.

Acute Situation of Bangladeshi Migrant Workers

Lack of awareness about labor rights at the countries

of destinations creates an environment of ill
treatment of migrant workers by their employers.
Poor living standards, inadequate health security,
and hazardous nature of work endanger the health of
migrant workers. They suffer from sickness,
depression and gradual decrease in employability.
The number of migrant workers returning deceased kept rising; in 2014, around 3,335

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Bangladeshi workers returned deceased, and in 2015 the number reached 3,375.Most of the
reports on migration in Bangladesh focus on the economic gains of the country while some
proudly utter the total number of overseas migrant workers. Merely pushing them out of the
borders can neither be an indicator of success nor a sustainable solution. However, various
policies and legislations are in place to protect and uphold migrant workers' rights as global
citizens instead of treating them as commodities of the migration process. It is crucial to
create awareness on this particular aspect of migration. There is a lack of clear procedural
guidelines in the case of overseas migration. However, to ensure the protection of migrants'
rights and their awareness, effective and timely measures would take.

Protection of Migrant Workers' Rights

The ILO is working with the government of Bangladesh to

improve the overall management of labour migration and to
ensure protection and decent employment conditions to the
Bangladeshi migrant workers. Also there is a need for
specific arrangement to look after the welfare of migrant
workers including visiting their workplaces, responding to
their queries and complaints, and extending consular services
to expatriate workers. Measures are required to increase financial assistance for stranded
workers waiting to be repatriated, emergency treatment for the distressed, and burial of the
deceased workers abroad.

Trained and Skilled Workers can Accelerate the Remittance Growth

The number of unskilled workers going to abroad is higher than the number of skilled
workers. Unskilled workers do not get higher salary as they cannot do the job which requires
special skills and abilities. The unskilled workers go to abroad at lower salary than after
working four to five years in that particular job they become skilled works but by the time
their visa gets expired and they returns to Bangladesh unwantedly. So if these workers get
proper training before living the country, they can directly step into those jobs which require
special skills. Their salary will be double than what he/she would get as unskilled worker. So
most importantly to increase the rate of remittance employee need to be properly trained and
sent to appropriate job matching with the skills.

Workers Safety and Rights can Ensure the Long Lasting Remittance for Bangladesh

According to officials of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, around 2.8
lakh Bangladeshi women have gone to the kingdom as domestic workers since 1991. Some
2.4 lakh of them went there in the last four years. Around 8,000 returned home in the last four
years after facing various forms of abuses, including physical and sexual ones. They were
also not provided with enough food and their wages were not paid. Most of them came from
the shelter home run by Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh and others from the Saudi detention
centers. There have been a good number of cases where the women returned with pregnancy
after rape, with babies and even with psychological problems. In this regards there is no
safety rights for the women working in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There should be a strong

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Bureau of Worker Rights in foreign countries where workers can easily complain about their
problems which will encourage other worker to go abroad.

Lack of Insurance Policy Ensuring Life Risk in Foreign Workplace

A large number of Bangladeshi women migrants are allegedly tortured and abused and many
workers lost their lives in abroad due to workplace accident and occupational diseases. The
information was disclosed in a press conference citing that a total of 3154 dead bodies of
migrant workers arrive from different countries between January and November 2017 in
Bangladesh. 33,112 Bangladeshi workers lost their lives at oversee workplaces in last 13
years. Workers working in the extreme working condition do not even have the life insurance
which will ensure the money for his/her family if he/she dies in workplace. Proper insurance
policy should be ensured for workers before they leave the country as well as government
need to ensure that the employer also maintain the life insurance of workers.

Safety Equipment in Workplace Ensures the Safe Workplace for Workers

Many big companies in Malaysia, Singapore, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia do not provide the
safety equipment to the workers in the workplace. Even the companies don not provide the
proper medical treatment to the employees. This creating the dissatisfaction among the
workers in the workplace as employees are getting sick and returning into Bangladesh. the
Bangladeshi government need to negotiate with the foreign countries about providing proper
medical treatment to each employee going from Bangladesh. This will increase the employee
working potentiality in foreign field.

Employers Concern about Fix Standard Wage Rate, is the Biggest Question for
Employees

The wage rate is not fixed to the companies in

most of the times. Companies promise a fixed
amount of wage to the employees before hiring.
But within two to three month companies starts
paying lower salary. Even companies stop their
operation in the middle of the year and cut off
the employees showing the reason for financial
crisis.in these situation employees work in a
lower wage rate forcefully. At such low wage
rate employees cannot even cover their spending
within seven to eight years. So government needs to negotiate with the foreign countries for
fix standard wage rate so that employees can at least cover their spending before they come
back

Middleman Making it Worse

As the demand for overseas jobs increased, the intermediaries started working as service
providers. While a total of 6,087 Bangladeshis availed overseas jobs in 1976, it was over 6.07
lakh by October this year. Now, an estimated 80 lakh Bangladeshis work abroad, with over
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70 percent of them in the Middle Eastern countries. There were very few recruiting agents in
1984, when the government first allowed them to operate. The number is about 960 now.
And, there are thousands of manpower brokers wooing jobseekers across cities and villages,
often with false promises. Government need to take action against these false brokers and set
up strong reliable agencies in every division so that people can trust and feel encouraged to
go to abroad as a worker.

Free Visa: A Fake Promise Made by Foreign Freelancers

In Arab countries, many so-called employers hire foreign workers without any specific job
and allow them to work as freelancers. This is illegal under the Kafala system (sponsorship
system) which does not allow migrants to change jobs or return home without the permission
of the employers. The so-called employers, however, charge migrants heavily for the ―free
visa‖ and when their visas are due to be renewed every year. If they don't comply with the
employer's demands, they can be reported to the police who then deport the migrants.
Government need protect employees from these fake foreign agencies. That‘s why
government needs to negotiate with foreign companies to identify these fake agencies and
ban them.

Bangladeshi Workers Got No Jobs after Migrating into Kuwait

Jobs proved elusive to over 500 Bangladeshi workers after migrating to Kuwait on
employment visas. These workers were trapped by brokers in Bangladesh and some dishonest
sponsors in Kuwait. The non-suspecting workers spent huge sums on the fake job visas. The
embassy formally requested Kuwaiti ministries and other authorities to realize compensations
for the victims. The entire embassy was making whole hearted efforts to assist the workers in
getting jobs in Kuwait. They also requested Kuwaiti authorities not to deport the poor
workers; each of them had to pay the brokers up to taka seven lakh to migrate to Kuwait.

Kuwait Re-instates Ban on Bangladeshi Workers

Kuwait has imposed a ban on recruiting Bangladeshis to work in the northern Arabian Gulf
state. The decision to irregularities and abuses by traffickers in work and residency permits
for Bangladeshis whose numbers have increased remarkably following the recent lifting of a
ban on their recruitment. The abuses were mainly related to the employment of domestic
helpers despite the existence of strict regulations. Kuwait started hiring Bangladeshi workers
in 1976 and around 480,000 workers were recruited until 2007. However, Kuwait stopped
recruiting Bangladeshi workers in 2007 after detecting irregularities in their recruitment and
their involvement in illegal activities. In 2014, Kuwait decided to lift the ban and allow
Bangladeshis to work in the Gulf country. But in May 2016, Kuwait imposed a ban on male
domestic helpers that there were irregularities.

Demand for Arrears and Work Permit

Bangladeshi workers vandalized the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait and beat up a senior
diplomat and several other employees demanding salary arrears and work permit from their
local employers. The workers also alleged that the company had not been renewing
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 theirexpired work permits or issuing new ones for
newly arrived workers. The workers told the
ambassador that they had decided not to work until
the issues had been solved. The management could
not pay the workers for last three months due to
frozen accounts. The salaries and other dues would
be paid on few days, while the expired work permits
would be renewed in 15 days

Bangladeshi Workers Strike for Better Pay

Hundreds of mainly Bangladeshi workers have gone on strike in Kuwait, seeking better pay
amid soaring prices and sparking calls by deputies to improve working conditions for
thousands of expatriates. Workers had been contracted for a monthly salary of 50 dinars, but
were only being paid 20 dinars, from which their employers deducted 12 dinars every month
for a visa residency charge. Workers are holdings a list of demands which included raising
salaries to 40 dinars a month and having a holiday every two years.

"Slave" Workers in Saudi Arabia

Thousands of Bangladeshi migrant women who travelled to the Saudi kingdom in search of
work now want to return to the country of origin because of continuing harassment they
suffer. Many of them have already returned and denounced the slave-like working conditions
to which they were subjected by day as maids in the house, and that at night they were forced
to satisfy the sexual desires of male employers and employees. In 2015 there were 20,952
migrant workers, but many of them have already returned. In 2019 about 200 housemaids
returned home from Saudi Arabia alone.

Bangladesh suspended the sending of women workers to Saudi Arabia for seven years,
allowing only men to migrate. The Dhaka authorities have signed an agreement that also
provides for the migration of women. They are educated in the country of origin, where the
government has opened 26 centers for the professional training of maids and servants. Then
they leave for the Middle Eastern countries, where, however, many suffer threats and sexual
abuse.

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Bangladeshi Workers Returning from Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of male Bangladeshi workers are coming back from Saudi, as well as female
workers, more than 600 Bangladeshi nationals have returned. Most of the returnees had work
permit related issues. Either they had no work permit or it had expired. However, some of the
returnees claimed they had been deported despite having work permits and necessary legal
documents. Saudi police arrested them from their workplaces or the streets, and put them in
jail without any reason. The number of returnees could rise further, as more and more
workers are being sent back every day.

Extreme Level of working Condition in Malaysia

A big portion of Bangladeshi workers are getting

handsome amount of salary and better life. Even
though, majority of them got hollow promises back
in their home country. It is also claimed that
Bangladeshi workers are getting less salary than
the local and Indonesian migrant workers by doing
the same type of work. Bangladeshi migrant
workers face various problems in their workplace
in Malaysia due to new languages, types of work
that they are doing for first time in life, culture, ways of doing work (e.g., usages of new
technologies), and many more. More than half of the migrant workers are not able to
understand the contracts of their work due to lack of understanding in either English or Malay
language. Therefore, it becomes easy for scrupulous agents to promise them high wages than
they actually received. Sometimes, they areforced to work over normal working time without
proper payments.

Migrant Workers Dream Ends in Body Bag

The hard-earned money sent home by millions of migrant workers is one of the biggest
sources of foreign currency for Bangladesh. Expatriate workers remitted around $14.93
billion last year. As hundreds of thousands leave the country every year to try their luck,
thousands also return, albeit in coffins and body bags. A large number of these deaths are
attributed to heart attacks and stroke.
Many of the victims are young. Brac‘s
Migration Head Shariful Islam Hasan
claimed that adverse working
environment, excessive workload, poor
living conditions, heart attack and stroke
caused by mental stress were behind
94% of the migrant deaths. Some others
are killed in accidents, commit suicide
or are murdered.

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Opportunities for Illegal Bangladeshi Workers to Gain Legal Status in Malaysia

The illegal migrants the migrants undergo various forms of violations, including physical and
mental abuses; long hours of work without any overtime pay and wage deductions, which
leave them in debt bondage as they spend exorbitant fees for overseas jobs. The Malaysian
Immigration Department Director General (DG) Dato' Seri Mustafar Bin Ali confirmed that
illegal Bangladeshi immigrants will get the opportunity to be legalised under the rehiring
process until December 31 this year. The Malaysian immigration police will not detain any
illegal Bangladeshi workers until December 31. In this time frame, illegal immigrants can
also complete the process of legalisation,‖ said Bangladesh High Commissioner to
MalaysiaMd Shahidul Islam over phone.

Government- to- Government Recruitment System between Bangladesh and Malaysia

The new Malaysian government had cancelled the previous online recruitment system, SPPA.
Instead of SPPA the government has come up with new recruitment system which is called
Government-to-Government recruitment system. In this recruitment system, fake agencies
from Bangladesh as well as from Malaysia will be diminished and people will be able to go
to Malaysia legally at fix job and wage rate. Government has assigned 10 agencies from both
countries who will monitor this issue.

Bangladeshi Workers Losing, ‘Freedom of Movement’ in Foreign Workplace.

Malaysian Labor rights organizations called for an urgent investigation into allegations of
abusing workers from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar against the company Top Glove.
Workers do not exercise real control over their passports, thereby affecting their freedom of
movement while working for Top Glove. In 2014, complaints were made to the Labor
Department that workers were detained in a 'lock-up' in factory for five days. Conditions like
this are in fact widespread, not just within the rubber glove industry, but in many migrant-
dominated industries, including domestic work, security, hospitality, construction, wood and
furniture and others. Even, workers with proper documents are also subjected to various
forms of violations by the employers, who withhold their passports. This sometimes leads to
arrest, detention and deportation of the migrants.

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Bangladeshi Workers: 300 Left to Rot in a Qatar Camp

About 300 Bangladeshi migrant workers are struggling in a Qatar labor camp that has no
running water and power and many of them have become sick. These workers went to Qatar
through an agent and started doing job at a construction company but suddenly the company
stopped its operation and the workers became jobless. Several attempts to realize their dues
have failed and now the workers are living on two meals a day provided by a non-profit
organization. The workers have not received any payment in the last six months. They are
passing days in anxiety as their families back home depend on them. Some of these workers
are suffering chest pain and some of them are suffering in abdominal pain. The fact is clear
that workers going abroad in a good condition but returning home half dead.

Achievement by Bangladeshi Workers

In2015, a total of 5,38,667 workers have migrated overseas from Bangladesh to take up
employment. In 2014, the total number who went was 425,684. In 2013, it was 409,253.
Compared to 2014, this year migration flow has increased more than 30%, while when
compared to last four years combined, it increased by 35%. There is no system of keeping
data on returnee migrants. The recently conducted SDC and RMMRU household survey
(2015) found that 9% of the migrant households were returnee migrant HHs. The number of
female migrants has been on the rise over the last few years. Since January to
November2015, a total of 91,858female workers has gone abroad to take up employment.
This is more than 19% of the total flow of the year.

More than 500,000 Labourers Working in Dubai

More than half a million unskilled workers are working at construction sites in Dubai,
according to statistics issued by the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs (PCLA) .
Average income of a Bangladeshi labour is 78000 taka per month which is $960 per month.
In just over two decades, the city has transformed from a desert backwater port to a thriving
metropolis with the third-most skyscrapers in the world. While the rapid development has
produced a futuristic city, it has come at the cost of hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi
workers who suffered to build it.

The Dubai Started Recruiting Bangladeshi Domestic Workers from 90’s

The categories include labourer, sailor, watchman, shepherd, falconer, housekeeper, cook,
nanny, farmer, gardener, private trainer, private tutor, farm supervisor and private driver,
construction workers etc. International labour migration has been an integral part of
Bangladesh economic and social Development since the 1980s. It creates employment,
ensures stability to foreign exchange reserve and in the context of 7th five-year plan of the
country, it offers additional avenues to the government to attain its long term developmental
goals. Along with the review of the challenges and achievements of government, this piece
suggests steps that can be taken in migration governance in the coming years. First let us
look at level and extent of migration during recent years.

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In 2014, the Number of Female Migrant was 76,007 and again it was 18% of the total
Flow

Almost 80% of the workers, who migrated in 2015, went to the Gulf and other Arab
countries. The average flow of migration over the last 39 years also depicts the same scenario
(82%). The remaining 20% went mostly to different South East Asian countries(1,25,492).
23% of the workers migrated to Oman. Compared to the last year, total share of Oman
increased 9%. Qatar received the second highest number of migrants from Bangladesh
(22.4%). This year, a substantial increase of migration to Saudi Arabia has been noticed.
Saudi Arabia accounts for almost 10.22% of the total migrants. This is the highest migration
flow to Saudi Arabia in the last 7 years, followed by Singapore. UAE is the single most
important destination for the Bangladeshi female migrant workers in 2015, followed by
Jordan (21.69%), Oman (16.88%),Saudi Arabia(16.4%), Lebanon (9.1%), Qatar (8.76%) and
Mauritius (1.3%).

Flow of Remittance

In 2018 the labour migrants remitted more than USD15 billion. In 2017 the remittance figure
was USD 14.94 billion. Since 2013, Bangladesh has been the seventh largest remittance
receiving country of the world. Similar to 2017, Saudi Arabia is the highest remittance
sending country for Bangladesh (21.49%) in 2018 .It is followed by UAE (18.14%) and the
USA (16.11%). Although, till date highest amount of remittances are sent from Saudi Arabia,
but it's total share is falling each year. In earlier years, 50% of the total remittance received
was from Saudi Arabia. Bangladesh experienced a substantial increase of remittance flow
from Malaysia in 2015 compared to the previous year. A total of 6.8% remittances were
received from Kuwait this year another 6% from Oman, 2.1% from Qatar and 2.67% from
Singapore.

Bangladesh Experienced Breakthrough in Re-entering into Labour Markets

These are Kuwait, Saudi Arab and Malaysia. After about eight years, Kuwait government
resumed hiring Bangladeshi workers from February 2015. As of December 23, a total of
16,833 workers went to Kuwait. This is almost 3.5% of the total flow from the country.
Kuwait imposed ban or restriction on recruiting Bangladeshi workers once in early 2000 and
then again in 2006, based on a murder incident as well as malpractices in the recruitment
process by Bangladeshi private agencies. Before the ban, it was one of the major destinations
for Bangladeshi workers in the Gulf region. It is extremely important to nurture good
relationship with the Kuwaiti government to continue the process.

Bangladesh has Lifted the Suspension on Sending Workers to Lebanon

Lebanon has suddenly opposed to recruit workers from Bangladesh in August 2018 without
any previous notice. They shoewd the reason of citing problems created by some mischievous
recruiting agents. Bangladesh Ambassador in Lebanon Abdul Motaleb Sarker had said
Bangladeshi workers were not getting proper jobs due to activities of the country‘s recruiting
agents. But Bangladesh has lifted the suspention withinthree days after implementation.

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Developing the Skills of our Labour

Skills development can assist Bangladeshi migrants in achieving better jobs, On average,
only 31% of those who leave the country obtain employment in skilled occupations. Most
migrants lack training and very few have qualifications recognized by host nations. Many
migrants upgrade their skills on the job while working in foreign industry but they too fall
into a trap, as there are few opportunities for them to gain certification for these higher levels
of competency. Without certification of skills, when they change jobs, they are slotted into
positions with less responsibility and lower salaries. Migrant workers from other countries,
such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India, are able to negotiate higher wages due to their
skills being recognized.

Bangladesh’s National Skills Development Policy, Problems Faced by Migrant Workers

The policy encourages training institutes to be labour market responsive, to assure quality
training, to provide standardized assessments and certification and to adopt a National
Technical and Vocational Qualifications Framework with clear levels which translate into
recognized qualifications in foreign countries. These are steps in the right direction. In order
to fortify the migration process for semi-skilled workers, the study recommends the following
actions.

History of Last Five Years about Bangladeshi Foreign Workers

Bangladesh's history is a history of migration. People have been mobile in the Bengal delta
region for centuries. Every year more than 400000 workers leave Bangladesh for overseas
employment. Now, there are approximately 11.46 million Bangladesh workers are working in
155 countries of the world. Most of the workers are migrated to Middle East, Malaysia,
Singapore etc. countries. Saudi Arabia is the largest migrant worker taking country for
Bangladesh. Saudi Arabia alone receives 29 percent of total migrant workers from
Bangladesh. Female workers constituted around 12 percent of total migrant workers in 2017
and the rate is increasing rapidly.

Employment and Remittance Chart (2014 to February 2019)

Year
Name of Countries Februar Total
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 y
2019
KSA 10,657 58,270 143,913 551,308 258,317 54,807 1,077,272
UAE 24,232 25,217 8,131 4,135 3,235 638 65,588
Kuwait 3,094 17,472 39,188 49,604 27,637 1,771 138,766
Oman 105,748 129,859 188,247 89,074 72,504 13,720 599,152
Qatar 87,575 123,965 120,382 82,012 76,560 18,612 509,106
Bahrain 23,387 20,720 72,167 19,318 811 - 136,403
Lebanon 16,640 19,113 15,095 8,327 5,991 1,104 66,270
Jordan 20,338 22,093 23,017 20,449 9,724 3,159 98,780
Libya 4,416 231 - 1 63 - 4,711

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Sudan 86 350 739 1,716 824 1 3,716
Malaysia 5,134 30,483 40,136 99,787 175,927 35 351,502
Singapore 54,750 55,523 54,730 40,401 41,393 6,042 252,839
South Korea 1,748 2,359 1,689 1,522 1,297 37 8,652
UK 16 4 11 7 8 - 46
Italy 856 44 3 1 - - 904
Japan 55 99 165 145 163 26 653
Egypt 266 601 758 30 48 - 1,703
Brunei 6,633 6,354 5,836 8,587 4,480 539 32,429
Mauritius 5,938 4,753 4,679 5,924 6,608 928 28,830
Iraq 13,627 13,982 4,738 3,819 19,567 3,320 59,053
Others 28,762 19,638 23,527 10,038 16,780 1,670 100,415

Total Employment 413,958 551,130 747,151 996,205 721,937 106,409 3,536,790

Million
14,942.57 15,270.99 13,609.77 13,526.84 15,544.86 29,77.43 75,872
Total USD
Remittances Crore
115,969.62 119,363.62 107,294.6 110,246.67 130,293.61 25,006.1 608,174
TK

This chart shows the past five years history and the current scenario of workers from
Bangladesh working in different countries. The migration remitted 15,544.86 million in 2018
which is 3 times more than total foreign investment in Bangladesh and the rate is increasing
day by day.

Female Migrant Workers over the Past Five Years

The female migration from Bangladesh has increased by 21.7 percent in the last five years as
some new destinations have opened up for their overseas earnings. According to Bureau of
Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) UAE was the largest Bangladeshi women
recruiter as it employed 260,697 workers, Saudi Arabia 58,907, Jordan 96,521, Lebanon
26,326, Oman 63,958, Qatar 24,404, Mauritius 4,847, Kuwait 822, Malaysia 120, Bahrain
629, Singapore 555, and Hong Kong 1,257. Bangladeshi female workers are serving in 43
countries. The maximum number went to the Middle Eastern countries as house helps.

Female Employment Graph (2014 to Febryary 2019)

Singapore

Malaysia

Mauritius
Female
Oman
Male
Jordan

UAE
0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000

17 | P a g e
There is a good demand for skilled and professional women, including nurses, caregivers,
babysitters, drivers (taxi cab domestic), front desk attendants, receptionists and cashiers in the
Middle Eastern countries, Europe and Asia. The graph shows that number of female workers
in different countries.

Proximity and Probability of Bangladeshi Workers in Foreign Workplace

The top five destination countries of Bangladeshi migrant workers are Saudi Arabia, United
Arab Emirates, Oman, Malaysia and Singapore. As of March 2015 their share in total
Bangladeshi migrant workers are 28.56, 25.24, 10.52, 7.68 and 5.97 percent respectively.
There have been ups and downs in the yearly migration flow, but the total number of
migrants has gradually increased over the time. The Saudi government had recently
announced preferential treatment for Saudi citizens in all employment sectors, including in
many high-paid jobs. This move has shrunk opportunities available for Bangladeshi workers.
The demands of household workers are increasing rapidly in Middle East country.

Bangladeshi Women Workers Potentiality to Work Abroad

Country like Lebanon, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman have created the specialized
sector for household and domestic works in which they are providing priority to the women
worker coming from different countries. This household works does not requires any extra
skills so unskilled women from Bangladesh can go to this countries and do this job. Also
Bangladeshi women workers can do these kinds of job because of high hospitality comparing
to women worker from other country. Now the Bangladeshi government has opened Bureau
of Women Safety for foreign women worker which ensures the safety of women in foreign
country so that Bangladeshi women can easily and safely do this type of household works. So
the probability and proximity is very high for Bangladeshi women worker in this sector.

Fishery Sector in Saudi Arabia: Opening a New Earning Root for Bangladeshi Workers

In 2011 the Saudi Arabian Government has

established Fishery sector to eliminate the
dependency on imported fishes from other
country. The planning was to cultivate fishes in
their own land. This sector has helped to
rehabilitate two lakh workers suffering in Saudi
Arab because these tow lakh workers joined this
fishery sector and started cultivating fishes. The
sector slowly started growing up and now this
sector became one of the major parts of Saudi Arab and also most suitable working
destination for Bangladeshi workers, because Bangladeshi people living in rural areas are
specialized in cultivating fishes. So if they go to Saudi Arab and work in fishery sector; very
soon Saudi Arab will be able to export their cultivated fishes as well as fulfill their own
demand.

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Green City Vision of Dubai: Offering Bangladeshi Workers specialized in Farming and
Gardening to get high salary and better life

Dubai has initiated the cultivation of green plants project in Desert, in this project Dubai has
the plan to grow fruit trees and cultivate green vegetable in desert also make the city green.
For this project Dubai has invested in Chines technology which has already invented the
process. The farmers and the people expert in nursery garden will play a key role in this
project. Bangladeshi worker in this case has the huge probability to work as a farmer and
gardener because more than 80% people in Bangladesh are involved in agriculture. So
Bangladeshi workers has 70% knowledge about agriculture and if they get short training
about agriculture in desert, they will most valuable weapon to make Dubai green and
cultivate green vegetable and fruits in desert.

Bangladeshi Workers during Hajj in Saudi Arabia

During the time of Hajj millions of people come into Saudi Arabia from Different countries.
Serving this huge number of people requires huge number of workers. Type of works like
cleaning roads, washroom, hotel premises, clothes, food court, clothes as well as serving food
to the hajis are tough jobs rarely done by Indian or other country workers except Bangladeshi
workers. During Hajj Bangladeshi workers does this entire works for extra money but the
amount of money they get is low. If Saudi Arabia increases the payment the probability of
Bangladeshi workers will increase in future.

BBA/ Other Degree Holder’s From Bangladesh, Can Have Better Opportunity to Work
in Foreign Country

According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),

every day 90 students leave Bangladesh to study abroad, most of whom stay back for a better
life. Not content with the education system and limited employment opportunities in the

19 | P a g e
home country, 33,139 Bangladeshi students had enrolled at foreign universities in 2016. This
student emigration figure was 22,725 in 2011 and 15,700 in 2007. The top destinations
chosen in 2016 were Malaysia (20%), USA (16%), UK (14%), Australia (13%), Germany
(6%) and Canada (5%). Malaysian universities have comparatively cheaper education cost
and internationalcollaboration with the UK, US, and other countries‘ universities. So, a large
number of Bangladeshi students, belonging to the middle income household are attracted to
Malaysia.

Potentiality of Highly Paid Jobs for Graduates

People completing graduation from Bangladesh with highly fluent in speaking English have
the opportunity to get job with high salary in the country like, China, Japan, Koria etc. this
countries mostly uses their native language for communication, so to do the business with
English speaking countries they need highly educated fluently English speaking employees.
In this point companies hire graduates from different English speaking countries with high
salary. In this opportunity Bangladeshi graduates can migrate to these countries and earn high
salary with better living condition.

Developed Countries Offering Free Higher Education Based on Merit List

Developed countries like USA, UK, Canada, and Australia are offering free higher education
to the students in developing countries based on merit list from top universities also offering
full time job with attractive salary and citizenship in the country. Higher salary and better life
style is the key weapon of developed countries to get well established graduates who will
work behind the development of that particular country. Bangladeshi graduates from top
universities positioned in the merit list can go to these developed countries and work in there
to contribute their developmental pyramid.

Graduates from Bangladeshis Earn Money through Teaching

The illiteracy rate in African countries is too high. The government of African countries has
taking the different initiative to increase the literacy rate. Among all the initiatives, hiring top
graduates from developing countries as a teacher is the open opportunity of earning for

20 | P a g e
graduates and other degree holders. The government is offering high range of salary with
better living facility to these graduates. So Bangladeshi graduates or other higher degree
holders go to African countries and educate them in exchange of high salary and better
habitation.

Bangladesh Remittances

In Bangladesh, Remittances refers to inflows of migrants‘ and short-term employee income

transfers. Remittances from more than 10 million citizens abroad are very important for
Bangladesh and along with garment exports are key source of foreign exchange. Saudi Arabia
has been the largest source of remittances, followed by UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Libya, Iraq, Singapore, Malaysia, the US and the UK. This page provides the latest reported
value for Bangladesh. Remittances in Bangladesh increased to 1202.85 USD Million in
December from 1180.44 USD Million in November of 2018. Remittances in Bangladesh
averaged 1201.42 USD Million from 2012 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 1504.98
USD Million in May of 2018 and a record low of 856.87 USD Million in September of 2017.

International Migration from Bangladesh

Bangladesh has mostly been a low skill manpower exporting country, while our neighboring
countries (India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan) were able to send workers at mid to high skill
levels. Every year, around 500.000 Bangladeshis leave the country to work abroad. As other
migrant workers from South Asia, Bangladeshis often face quite harsh working conditions
and inhumane treatment at their respective destinations. Most of the labor migrants from
Bangladesh who work in the Gulf States are unskilled or low-qualified. The workplace
security standards are very low, which frequently leads to illness, injuries and has already
caused the death of hundreds of foreign workers – in 2013 more than 600 migrant workers

21 | P a g e
from Bangladesh lost their lives in accidents at their workplace at various destinations.
Female migrants who work as maids and domestic helpers at their employers‘ homes are
often subject to sexual harassment and even rape.

Life in Qatar

Life in Qatar is very expensive. The accommodation is provided through the company, but
food and general living expenses make it hard to save anything. There were 10 people to one
small room, with five bunk beds and nowhere to put anything.The toilets were outside. They
have to hand over their passport on arrival, so
they can't leave. Worker feel trapped, like a
prisoner. Most of the workers at the site they
are treated very badly, and the conditions in
which they live and work are terrible. There is
no drinking water available, there is no air
conditioning in their cabins and this was in 45C
heat.

Train and Develop Skilled Workers

The government has undertaken a special programmed for rehabilitation of the expatriate
workers who have returned home. Besides, several developed countries expressed their
interest in taking skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladesh. The government is
helping to develop skilled workers in 48 different trades and also has 70 technical training
centers (TTC) for such development. It is also constructing 40 training centers at upazila
level with 50 more in the pipeline. In 2016, a total of 7, 57,731 Bangladeshi workers went
abroad with job, while the number was 5, 55,881 in 2015. Currently about 1.3 crore
Bangladeshis are employed in 162 countries and they remit annually over US$ 15 billion to
the country.

Open New Labor Wings

Social awareness is essential to ensure safe immigration because many workers are going
abroad without receiving proper knowledge. The government of sending workers abroad is to
continue the present trend of overseas employment as well as attaining the government's
target of sustainable development goals. The government has a plan to explore new labor

22 | P a g e
markets as well as open new labor wings, where a significant number of Bangladeshi workers
are employed, for ensuring their welfare.

Japan to Recruit Trained Bangladeshi Workers Soon

At present, 29 labor wings are working aboard. Besides, Japan showed a keen interest in
recruiting skilled workers from Bangladesh and a Mou will be signed between Bangladesh
and Japan. Bangladesh is now exporting manpower to 165 countries across the world. The
number of manpower export is on rise due to different measures taken by the government.
The government has recently re-fixed the highest costs of migration to 16 countries.

The highest migration cost was fixed at Tk. 262,270 (including training cost) for Singapore,
while Tk. 165,000 (for only male) for Saudi Arab, Tk. 160,000 for Malaysia, Tk. 145,780 for
Libya, Tk. 97,780 for Bahrain, Tk. 107,780 for United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tk. 106,780 for
Kuwait, Tk. 100,780 for Oman and Qatar, Tk. 129,540 for Iraq, Tk. 102,780 for Jordan, Tk.
120,780 for Egypt and Brunei, Tk. 166,640 for Russia, Tk. 115,780 for Maldives, and Tk.
117,780 for Lebanon.

Sports Initiative

In Bangladesh, sport is the most sellable product at present. ICC Champions Trophy 2017,
FIFA Confederations Cup 2017, Australia Tour of Bangladesh, BPL 2017 is among the most
trending topics in 2017. Excellent performance of our sportspersons are playing key role to
increase this interest day by day. Sports Sections of online version of Bangladeshi
newspapers, renowned local and international sports websites are providing sports contents to
satisfy the demand of sports enthusiasts nationally as well as globally. This is increasing
value of Bangladesh in outer world.

Time to Take Sports Seriously

Bangladesh has always been a sports-loving nation. Sports bring people together irrespective
of religion or social and economic background. Our women's football or cricket teams are
obvious examples of how sports can promote women's empowerment and gender equality.
Bangladesh's women footballers are now competing with foreign women a football league
which was unthinkable even a few years ago. Sports have numerous positive impacts on
education, health, trade, tourism, industrialization, technology and social cohesion. So it goes
without saying that sports must be given priority in the national budget. In 2017 the global
sports market generated revenue of around USD 91 billion.

Hosting International Sports

Hosting international sports events like Olympics, FIFA World Cup or ICC World Cup has
always been a privilege of the rich nations as it requires huge investments in sports
infrastructure. Bangladesh hosted ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and 2014 ICC World T-20
when Bangabandhu National Stadium, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and Sylhet
Cricket Stadium were upgraded.

23 | P a g e
Expenditure for Sports Activities

Priority can be given to the sports disciplines where our athletes have high potential of
winning medals. Smartly prepared sports budget could be a good business case for enhancing
the budget of the ministry, which currently accounts for 0.03 percent of the national budget.
Training and participating in competitions and organizing sports events are directly related to
the performance of the players. Sports sponsorship is the most significant source of revenue
for sports across the world. Currently, the global sports sponsorship market has an estimated
value of almost USD 64 billon. Some corporate houses and sports-loving persons generously
sponsor our sports. But there is no credible data on the total market value of sports
sponsorship in Bangladesh. Sports sponsorship should also be taken into account when we
talk about the national sports budget.

Bangladesh Breaks Down Barriers to Female Participation

The Bangladesh women have brought laurels for the country in the last couple of years with
their latest title winning success coming in the recently concluded Saff U-15 Championship
in 2017. UNICEF is now working to expand this project and form female sports teams in
other parts of the country. It is hoped that girls will be given the chance to play not just
cricket, but football, hockey and basketball as part of this initiative.

24 | P a g e
Sakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's Highest Earning crickter

Shakib Al Hasan, one of the greatest all-rounders of the cricket

world also Bangladesh‘s representative in IPL. Shakib, has had a
phenomenal time in the last 12 months both on and off the field.
Shakib was a one of the key players retained by Kolkata Knight
Riders for the

2015 edition of the IPL. Shakib, who was contracted by Kolkata

Knight Riders for US$ 425,000 in 2011, received a whopping Rs.
2,80,00,000 for his stay and was the only player from Bangladesh to be awarded a contract.

Under-16 Women's Team Rewarded

The under-16 national women's football teams have expressed their gratitude towards the
Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and the corporate houses after being accorded a
reception at a city hotel where each of the 23 players received monetary rewards. The AFC
U-16 Women's Championship Qualifiers earlier to book a place among the final eight. The
event was attended by ministers, sports officials, corporate owners and football officials
among others. The girls were each handed a Tk. 1.25 lakh award – provided by Gemcon
Group, Caldwell Development Company Limited and Saif Global Sports Limited – while SS
Solutions pledged to provide monthly allowances to the girls for the period of a year.

List of Bangladesh’s International Achievements in 2017

 The national archery team (men's and women's) won six gold, one silver and two
bronze medals in the first ever International Solidarity Championship in Dhaka from
January 26-31.

 The national taekwondo team earned four gold‘s, three silvers and as many bronzes in
the first ever Kathmandu International Championship in Kathmandu, Nepal from
February 9-11.

 The Tigers in their tour of Sri Lanka defeated the home side in the second and final
Test match, held from March 15-19, to mark their 100th Test with a historic victory.

 Female karate player, Sanowara Akhter Bulbuli won silver in the minus-68kg.
category of the Thailand Open Karate-Do Championship from April 22-25.

 The national basketball team finished runners-up in the fifth South Asian
Championship in Male, Maldives from May 19-23

 Swimmers Faisal Ahmed, Polash Chowdhury and Jewel Ahmed finished first, second
and third respectively in the 19km. event of the 74th World Long-Distance Swimming
Competition in West Bengal‘s Murshidabad district in August-September. Nazma
Khatun was placed second in the women's version of the event.

25 | P a g e
Newspaper Heading:

 "Slave" workers in Saudi Arabia: We want to go home, enough ill-treatment

 90 more Bangladeshi female workers return from Saudi Arabia
 Is the job market in Saudi Arabia shrinking for Bangladesh?
 Saudi Arabia deports Over 600 workers in 14 days
 Employers embezzling money for work permits?
 81 women workers return from KSA with scars of physical, mental abuse by
employers
 Saudi job policy to affect Bangladeshi workers
 Sports initiative in Bangladesh breaks down barriers to female participation
 Time to take sports seriously
 Shakib-Al-Hasan is Bangladesh's highest earning cricketer
 2017 In Review: List of Bangladesh‘s international achievements
 Over 500 Bangladeshi workers got no jobs after migrating to Kuwait
 Bangladeshi workers strike for better pay in Kuwait
 Kuwait re-instates ban on Bangladeshi workers
 No ban on work visas for Bangladeshis, Kuwait labour ministry clarifies
 Demand for Arrears, Work Permit: Anger, chaos in Kuwait
 Bangladeshi workers vandalize Bangladesh mission, beat up senior diplomat
 11 lakh Bangladeshis to get overseas jobs in 2017
 Bangladesh sent over 1m workers abroad in 2017
 Bangladesh gets offer from 12 countries
 Migration, a major pillar for the Bangladesh economy
 Trends in international migration and remittance flows: Case of Bangladesh
 Bangladeshis in the Middle East
 Foreign Workers in Bangladesh
 Working a thousand miles away from home
 249,000 workers go abroad, Bangladesh receives $4,530m remittance till April
 Number of Bangladeshi female migrant workers on the rise
 Overseas Employment of Bangladeshi Workers: Trends, Prospects, and Challenges
 Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in Malaysia‘s Construction Sector
 Manpower exports to Middle Eastern countries drop by 48%
 Over 10 lakh workers sent abroad in 2017
 Pay Bangladeshi worker $7,363, Singapore court to construction company
 Migrant workers at risk of exploitation
 How Bangladeshis are being exploited in Maldives
 Migrant workers and their misery
 Experts: Don't send women workers abroad without ensuring their security

26 | P a g e
Economic Prospects of Destination Countries

Maintain the flow of overseas employment at desired levels, it is important to examine, on a

regular basis, the economic prospects of destination countries and their requirement for
expatriate labour. Based on such analysis, proactive efforts are needed to respond to the
evolving demand for workers—both in terms of destination countries and skill composition.
Bilateral contracts and negotiations can be useful in tapping potential opportunities. If
Bangladesh intends to increase the share of skilled workers in overseas employment, action
would be needed on various fronts.

The Potential Workers with Skills that are in Demand

Ii involves the ability to produce qualifications that are internationally recognized. Training
facilities need to be upgraded and international recognition of certificates obtained. The
perception of Bangladesh as a supplier of unskilled and low-skilled workers alone also needs
to change. Bilateral contracts, marketing of available skills, and showcasing of cutting-edge
skills-training facilities (once they can be demonstrated), would be necessary to address this
issue.

High Proportion of the Cost is Accounted by So-called Facilitators

As a very high proportion of the cost is accounted for by so-called facilitators, any efforts to
reduce the cost of migration would have to focus primarily on this aspect. A number of
recommendations may be made to cover the various stages of the migration cycle. At the
grassroots level, where the process starts, district employment and manpower offices
(DEMOs) could work with nongovernment organizations and community-based
organizations to provide alternative sources of information and raise awareness about various
aspects relating to overseas employment.

Bangladesh worker Contributing to the Economy of host Countries

In fact, those countries are developing on the toil of these migrant workers. These migrants
make their lives easy and comfortable. Without these migrant workers, they cannot advance a
single step. But they don‘t care of these migrants. Instead, they are exploited by the
employers and the middlemen. The migrant workers, who are there without valid documents
by the grace of unscrupulous agents, are the worst sufferers. Our female workers are also
abused either physically or sexually.

Our government must solve some important issues like amount of wage and overtime,
working hour, holidays, lodging and boarding, Passage (both ways), Cost for treatment/health
insurance, protection from all kinds of physical/mental tortures, sexual abuse and
misbehaves, punishment for non-payment, sexual abuse and physical/mental torture
according to the local laws, payment of the local taxes, compensation for accident as per
gravity ,and respect to all terms and conditions specified in various international conventions
and agreements on this matter.

27 | P a g e
References:

 http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Thousands-of-Bangladeshi-migrant-workers-in-
Malaysia-send-remittances-home-40263.html

 https://www.dhakatribune.com/labour/2017/07/18/malaysia-illegal-bangladeshi-
workers-legal-status

 https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/special/2017/12/18/migrant-workers-death

 https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/abusing-foreign-workers-malaysian-
rights-bodies-urgent-probe-1671301

 https://www.ucanews.com/news/bangladeshi-migrant-workers-at-risk-of-early-
death/78345

 http://www.theindependentbd.com/printversion/details/76585

 https://www.oshebd.org/womens-relay-competition/

 https://www.danchurchaid.org/articles/working-a-thousand-miles-away-from-home

 http://www.old.bmet.gov.bd/BMET/viewStatReport.action?reportnumber=12

 https://mofa.gov.bd/site/page/960633d4-afac-4b4e-9866-b468251803e8/Saudi-
Arabia-(Jeddah)

 https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2018/04/20/249000-workers-go-
abroad-bangladesh-receives-4530m-remittance-till-april

 https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Malaysia-
WORKING-CONDITIONS.html

 http://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/migration/laenderprofile/216104/international-
migration-from-bangladesh?fbclid=IwAR3yOR67XPqcuHB12X8IEHwT-
oHTICTPqMhBcB6aLvZadK3eYz_XBL_0Db0

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250212760_Trends_in_international_migra
tion_and_remittance_flows_Case_of_Bangladesh

 https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2019/01/13/migrant-workers-and-their-
misery

 https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2018/02/13/experts-women-workers-
abroad-security-migration

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Group: B and H

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