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Migrant Workers

Bangladesh can hardly ensure rights

Sultana Kamal tells consultation

Staff Correspondent
Human rights activist advocate Sultana Kamal yesterday said the major failure of Bangladesh is that it cannot protect rights of migrant workers despite their immense contribution to the country's economy.
"We talk about democracy and human rights, but neither can arrange employments for youths nor can we protect them while they are employed abroad," she said this at a consultation at the National Press Club in the city.
IMA Research Foundation, a migrant workers' organisa-tion, organised the programme on the arbitration process of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) and media intervention in ensuring migrants' rights to compensation.
Returnee workers and parents of migrants at different countries, especially Malaysia, gave accounts of various forms of cheating by agents, brokers, employers and lack of attention of Bangladesh missions tpw^rds them.
Speaking as the chief guest, Sultana Kamal, also former adviser to a caretaker government, said, “The stories of cheating and tortures we frequently hear about our
migrants abroad are no less than the horror cinema stories.”
"I am very frustrated at it... It is a humanitarian issue," she said, lamenting that there is no effective arrangement for the protection of migrant workers.
Sultana Kamal, also executive director of Ain O Salish Kendra, further said the agencies and corrupt officials involved in the process of immigration protection so far got impunity.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is conducting its anti-graft drives in many sectors, but no efforts are apparent to curb corruption in overseas employment sector, sheadded.
She suggested empowering migrant workers, especially those who are cheated, so that they can realise the compensation from the recruiting agencies or brokers.
Harun Al Rashid, founding member of the foundation, said the government does not truly recognise the huge problems that Bangladeshi workers are facing in Malaysia.
.. "Tlje broJ^er^ ^omyia^itk the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia," said Harun, who also works for the migrant workers with a Malaysian NGOTenaganita.
Presenting his keynote paper, Radyan Rahave, IMA
volunteer, said in the arbitration process at BMET most decisions go against the cheated workers.
According to a provision of Immigration Ordinance 1982, workers cannot file any case against the decision of BMET and this power actually creates scopes for some BMET officials to resort to corruption.
In many cases, BMET takes so long time that workers are subjected to serious harassments, while in some cases the arbitration process is stopped midway.
"Recruiting agencies also have a very strong influence on BMET," he added.
Asked about such irregularities. BMET Director General Abdul Malek said there are surely some lapses, but there are also problems in the arbitration process, as workers cannot always present their right evidences.
"If we don't find accurate evidence, we cannot give accurate judgments.” he said, adding that the workers going abroad do not make public the fraudulent practices unless $eyareintijpi|bl£ ... * ,.
* Anisur Rahman of the research body and Mojibul Haque of Brae also spoke at the consultation chaired by Dr Mizanur Rahman, a research fellow at National University of Singapore.