Hong Kong starts recruitment of Bangladeshi housemaids from March, officials said. They said that the host country would recruit the housemaids through government as well as private recruiting agencies.
Recruitments would take place under an agreement between the Bangladesh government and Hong Kong general chamber, they said.
The first batch of the housemaids is expected to leave for Hong Kong in March on completion of two months’ compulsory training to be given by trainers from Hong Kong.
Two trainers from Hong Kong arrived in Dhaka on Friday to train Bangladeshi trainers at the government run Technical Training Centre at Keraniganj.
The aspirants would taught spoken Cantonese and English languages, child rearing, how to prepare Chinese food and house keeping, officials said.
For the first batch 45 aspirants have been enlisted for taking the training in domestic work.
Gradually, Bangladesh trainers would provide the training to the aspirant workers at government technical training centres, officials said.
Hong Kong would recruit Bangladeshi housemaids under an agreement the Bureau of Manpower, employment and Training and the General Chamber of Hong Kong signed in May of 2012, BMET officials told New Age on Thursday.
Officials said, no initial expenses would be involved on the part of the aspirants as the costs would be borne by the employers who would deduct the migration cost equivalent to Tk 1,15,000 from a worker’s monthly wages in two years.
Aspirants going to Hong Kong under government arrangement would not be required to pay any fees in Bangladesh, they said.
The agreement says the workers would be recruited initially for two years under contracts renewable up to five years.
To qualify aspirants must be in the age bracket of 25-45.
Aspirants have been asked to contact the government run Technical Training Centre at Keraniganj and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mojib Mohila Technical Training Centre to take two-month training to be run by the government.
According to BMET records, 69 female workers took employment in Hong Kong since 1993.
When asked, Professor Tasneem Siddiqu, the founder chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit at Dhaka University, told New Age on Thursday that Hong Kong, with its good working environment and a day off each week could be a better destination for the women workers.
She said the government should provide proper training, counseling and motivation to the aspirants about the job environment and self protection before sending them to Hong Kong.
She said the aspirants should be better prepared to utilize the opportunity.
Tasneem Siddiqu also said the BMET should provide the mandatory advice to the female workers to open their bank accounts at home for remitting their savings through the proper channels from Hang Kong.
In Hong Kong, monthly wage for female domestic workers would be equivalent to Tk 40,000 and the employers would bear the airfare and other costs of migration, said officials.
Courtesy of New Age
