Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday admitted that manpower export from Bangladesh came down
during the current year due to global financial recession.
About 4 lakh to 4.5 lakh workers were expected to leave the country for different overseas destinations with jobs by the end of the current year, although more than six lakh workers had gone abroad with employment in 2012, he said.
Mosharraf said some 30,000 to 32,000 workers were leaving every month during the current year while last year 40,000 to 45,000 workers left the country every month.
The minister gave the statistics at a press conference at Probashi Kalyan Bhaban after a 10-day official visit to Saudi Arabia recently.
Terming Saudi Arabia the largest labour market, he said about 15 lakh Bangladeshi workers were currently working in the Kingdom, but the Saudi authorities reduced recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in last few years.
Appreciating the extension of amnesty up to November 3, the minister said expatriate Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia should immediately take the privilege of legalising their status during the extended period; otherwise they would have to face problems
like fine, imprisonment or deportation.
He hoped that Saudi Arabia, a brotherly country, would recruit more Bangladeshi workers after expiry of the amnesty period.
About the outcome of his visit to the United Arab Emirates, Khandker Mosharraf said he had a fruitful meeting with the UAE officials. UAE authorities were trying to know the actual ‘stock’ of the workers and preparing a list of country-wise foreign workers employed in the UAE, he said, adding that on completion of the list, they would recruit new workers.
About sluggish process of departure of Malaysia-bound workers, the minister said the new Malaysian government had been taking time to settle down in office after general elections held there a few months ago.
Clean data on 5,500 workers were sent to Malaysia and few workers were expected to get visas at the end of this current month, he said.
Replying to a question, he said, about five lakh Rohingyas who left for Saudi Arabia on Bangladesh passports would be given identity cards through Bangladesh mission in Riyadh.
Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment secretary Jafar Ahmed Khan, Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training director general Begum Shamsun Nahar and other senior officials were present at the press conference.
At the press conference, BMET technical team members conducted a computerised lottery and selected some 11,704 workers for Malaysian jobs to be sent in the second phase.
In February this year, about 10,000 were selected in the first phase for sending them to Kuala Lumpur; of them only 198 workers left for Malaysia, said the minister.
-With New Age input
