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Agents fear slump in migrant outflow

Star Business Report
Recruiting agents fear a 50 percent slump in the outflow of migrant workers in the wake of global financial woes and a slide in oil prices that hurt the Middle Eastern countries.
At a press conference in Dhaka yesterday, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) spelled out concern over the probable return of migrant workers from abroad amid slowing demand.
But the remittance inflow is expected to remain stable at $9 billion, which was recorded in 2008, the recruiting agents said.
“We sent a record number of migrant workers last year. Unless there is any dramatic progress at government levels, the number may dive nearly 50 percent this year," said BAIRA President Ghulam Mustafa.
Fears of slowing migration came as the economic downturn threatened the job security of migrant workers. Companies in many developed and emerging economies have halted their projects or laid off workers amid a slump in business and a lack of funds.
Officials and recruiting agents said Bangladeshi migrant workers have so far bypassed a large scale of job cuts.
“But the downturn may lead to a halt in new recruitments in host countries and force many workers to return home,” Mustafa told journalists at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
The outflow of migrant workers from Bangladesh hit a record high of 8.75 lakh in 2008, up from 8.32 lakh a year ago amid high demand to feed the booming, labour-intensive construction sector in Dubai and
At present, about nine lakh Bangladeshis work in the UAE, mostly in the construction sector.
A drop in exports of Malaysia, another biggest destination for Bangladeshi workers, may also increase the vulnerability of workers.
Recruiting agents said the overtime income of workers in Malaysia is on the decline in the wake of slowing Malaysian exports to developed economies.
The Malaysian government on Monday said the Southeast Asian country's exports could fall as much as 3-4 percent this year as demand from trading partners evaporates.
"The return of some Bangladeshi workers from Dubai and Malaysia is likely. But the impact will be minimal if the recession is short-lived," said Mustafa, chief of BAIRA, a body of about 800 licensed migrant workers recruiting agents.
Mustafa however expected that workers in other countries such in Saudi Arabia, the biggest destination for Bangladeshi job seekers, might remain immune to the threat of job cuts.
"The overall impact on the remittance inflows will be minimum,” he said. "It may remain stable.”
Bangladesh, one of the top ten remittance recipients, recorded more than 35 percent growth in remittance inflows to about $9 billion in the January-December of 2008 from $6.56 billion a year ago.
The World Bank had earlier predicted that remittance flow to South Asian countries might remain stable in the year 2009 at $51 billion dollar or decline as high as 5.5 percent to $48 billion.
other emirates of UAE (United Arab Emirates), as well as in export-oriented factories in Malaysia.
But the once buoyant real estate and construction sectors in the Middle East now shows the signs of a deep downturn as the financial crisis bites, sending many foreign workers, mainly from South Asia, back home.
The World Bank however expected that it might rebound in 2010.
The BAIRA president said Lhe government should strengthen its diplomatic efforts to cushion migrant workers against shocks of the recession.
"Diplomatic missions in the host countries should continue to watch the ongoing developments."