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Fix migration cost within Tk 1 lakh

JS body also asks govt, stakeholders to outline action plan for manpower export in 2 months

Rashidul Hasan
A parliamentary standing committee yesterday gave two months to manpower export related government and private agencies for coming up with detailed action plans for restructuring themselves, in a bid to end irregularities and mismanagement in the sector.
The parliamentary standing committee on expatriate welfare and overseas employment also asked the relevant ministry' to restructure itself within the same period, so it may meet the needs of about 6.5 million Bangladeshi expatriate workers efficiently, as they are one of the major sources of the country's forex earnings.
The committee also asked the authorities concerned to introduce low cost passports for
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workers seeking employments overseas, cut their health screening fees, and to reduce Dhaka-Saudi Arabia airfare. Saudi Arabia is the largest employer of Bangladeshi workers.
The parliamentary watchdog committee also asked the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) to fix the migration cost for workers at no more than Tk 1 lakh, and also to fix the minimum salary for them.
"We've asked Baira, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training, and Bangladesh Overseas-EmpUQMn^U. Services Uqyivd_» to submit detailed recommendations for curbing irregularities in the sector including fake visas and fake work permits, and also other harassment the workers face in their attempts to go overseas," Jatiya Party lawmaker Anisul Islam Mahmud who is the committee chief, told reporters after a committee meeting in the parliament building.
The committee directed the agencies to submit their recommendations before its next meeting scheduled for the first week of October, he added.
’The committee also recommended bringing down the number of passport pages for migrating workers to 16 or 17 from the current 48, in order to bring down the processing fee," Anisul Islam said.
It directed all recruiting agencies under Baira to have online services for their clients as well in a bid to establish transparency in the sector.
The committee chief also said the current airfare for flights to Saudi Arabia from Dhaka is much higher than the airfares for that destination from some cities in neighbouring countries, which have almost the similar distance.
Baira representatives who were present at the meeting admitted that the current fees they charge overseas employment seekers are between Tk 2 lakh and Tk 2.5 lakh, which are also much higher compared to the fees charged by the agencies in neighbouring countries.
Baira top leaders however could not give any satisfactory answer to the committee regarding why they charge higher, said Anisul Islam.
He said the committee strongly recommended increasing manpower in the labour wings of Bangladesh missions in at least 10 countries which are major importers of the country’s manpower.
He told reporters that about 2.5 lakh Bangladeshis went abroad for work in the last six months, and an equal number is likely to take off in the next six months.
The committee also asked Bangladesh Bank to take steps to arrange legal channels where overseas employment seekers may deposit tneir visa fees.
It asked the government to form a national task force as well, to coordinate secured investment of expatriate workers' remittances in the country.
Anisul said the proposed bank for expatriate workers should not only deal with their remittances, rather it should work as a full-fledged bank with an emphasis on expatriate welfare. The bank is likely to start its operation within this year, he added.
The meeting also directed the recruiting agencies to take initiatives for exporting manpower to Romania, which recently expressed interest in hiring Bangladeshi workers.