& 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' Migrantion

New law to stop cheats

Govt set to place bill in Sangsad with provision of tougher punishment

Belal Hossain Biplob
The government is set to place a bill in the upcoming parliament session for a law to protect migrant workers' rights and punish the fraudulent manpower exporters.
The draft of the proposed law. Employment and Migrant Workers Act, 2013, got final approval from the cabinet on August 12, said sources at expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry.
It proposes a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a penalty of Tk5 lakh for sending a person abroad through illegal channels; and seven years imprisonment and a fine of Tk3 lakh for collecting fake demand letters or work permits from abroad and trading those at home.
The draft also suggests a minimum jail term of one year and a fine of Tk5 lakh for publishing advertisements on
2 a>M>r City NEWS dhaka Saturday September 7,2013
FROM PAGE 16 overseas employment without prior permission either from the ministry or the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).
Under the proposed law, the offenders will be tried either at first class judicial magistrate courts or metropolitan magistrate courts for disposal of cases within six months of filing.
The Jatiya Sangsad goes into session on September 12.
The bill incorporates some significant provisions with the intent of creating more overseas employment opportunities and introducing safe migration mechanism.
Private recruitment agencies can send jobseekers abroad by charging them
migration costs as fixed by the government. They cannot appoint middlemen in the country, but would be allowed to appoint representatives abroad with prior permission from the government, says the draft.
Migration experts have welcomed the government move saying it would help ensure the rights of migrant workers. They, however, observed that the draft still lacked provisions to bring the middlemen under the purview of the law and protect the rights of female migrants.
"Migrant workers are mainly cheated by the middlemen, but they remain beyond legal reach. So it is urgent to bring them under the purview of the proposed law," said Tasneem Siddique, chairperson of
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, anNGO.
Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan said the proposed law would ensure transparency and accountability of the manpower exporters.
"The incidents of cheating migrant workers have increased, but the victims hardly get justice. We hope the proposed law will protect the jobseekers and punish the fraudulent agencies and middlemen," he added.
If ratified, the new law will repeal Emigration Ordinance, 1982, under which only the BMET could file cases on behalf of the victims. But the new law will enable the victims seek legal redress.