& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Workers fly home as recession pans out

Sohel Parvez
Bangladeshi migrant workers have started returning home, battered by early lay-offs and 'forced vacations' without pay, as the global economic meltdown is drying up businesses in host countries.
The majority of the workers are coming back from die United Arab Emirates - mainly from the glitzy city of Dubai. Migrant workers from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are also on the list of returnees in the early signs of fallout from the recession that panned out over a large swathe of the world.
“I was totally unaware until last night that I would be on the list of lay-offs. They (officials) came to our camp and took six of us to airport,” said Abdul Quader, a laid-off worker, who arrived from Dubai at Zia International Airport yesterday.
Quader, who bet his fortunes four months ago to go to the UAE to build skyscrapers in the desert, is not the only victim of terminated work contracts in the once booming construction sector of Dubai.
A number of Bangladesh migrant workers were found returning from the UAE before expiry of their work permits.
In the last two months, the number of returnees has increased as the global financial crisis slows demand worldwide, forcing layoffs. Foreign workers are the first to experience the blow.
The host countries have also intensified drives against worker overstay.
The recession hurts Middle Eastern economies such as the UAE and its lavish trade and tourism hub in Dubai, which witnessed spectacular growth in the construction and real estate in the last six years, thanks to previous oil price surges.
But the lingering slump in oil prices is dampening overall demand in Middle Eastern countries, the biggest destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers.
In January, some 4,817 workers returned home, up from only 701 a month ago, according to official data.
“I sat idle for about one and a half months. I expected that workers who have been working for long time would be laid off, not me,” said Quader, accompanied by another laid-off worker, Nazrul
Islam.
Quader, who lives in Rupganj in Narayanganj, paid about Tk 2 lakh to a recruiting agent to get a job as a labourer at Al Naboodah Contracting LLC. in the UAE. He had sold his property to finance his migration.
Nazrul also borrowed money from neighbours and relatives.
“I owe about Tk 1.25 lakh to people. My lenders will kill me. It would have been much better if I had died in the desert,” said Nazrul from Bhaluka, Mymensingh.
Mohammad Sekandar Khan, who had been working as a mason at Arabtec Construction LLC, is nowon a prolonged, forced 'vacation'.
"There is no work now. The company is running short of money," he said. Ten others were sent back home along with him.
“I was paid off for one and a half months, against dues of two and a half months," said Sekandar, who went to the UAE in March last year.
Ghulam Mustafa, president of the Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), expressed concerns over the number of returning workers.
"Workers from Saudi Arabia, Dubai (UAE) and Malaysia are coming back home at an alarming rate. A section of them has been retrenched due to the recession,” he said.
These are the top three destinations for Bangladeshi workers, who flew out at a record number of 8.75 lakh in 2008, up from 8.32 lakh a year ago.
Recruiting agents on Monday feared nearly a 50 percent slump in manpower exports this year.
“This is a negative impact of the recession," said Nazmul Quanine, Bangladesh ambassador to the UAE.
“We are in touch with the companies, so that z they do not send back workers before expiry of their 5 contracts. We are suggesting reducing overtime § bills, instead of layoffs."
The ambassador also advised recruiting agents 5 not to send workers unless they are certain that workers would get jobs and will not face layoffs.
sohel@thedailystar.net