Editorial
Increase in expatriate workers' remittance
Retain the momentum
It is very heartening to learn that Bangladesh has had an increase of nearly ten percent in foreign remittance from workers from abroad. The figure is even more encouraging given the political crisis that the Middle-East, our biggest market, has been beset with, particularly over the last two years. Although the number of workers that Bangladesh sent abroad has reduced considerably, and understandably so, compared to 2008 when we sent around eight hundred thousand workers abroad, the fact that we managed to send more than half a million of them to work abroad deserves to be commended.
However, the issue deserves special attention of the government since a good number of the traditional market for our workers are cutting down on importing labour from Bangladesh, while one, namely Kuwait, has totally stopped recruiting from us since 2006.
Even though the number of recruiting countries has increased by more than 100 percent, irregular recruitment by our traditional markets is likely to have negative impact on our inflow of foreign remittance in future.
Most of the countries that have reduced the volume of recruitment from Bangladesh cite malpractices in recruitment in Bangladesh, and labour migration sector, regrettably, tops the list in corruption rate. That is what must be addressed immediately by the ministry of overseas employment if we are to regain the confidence of the traditional markets.
Bangladesh must also seek newer destinations and not depend entirely on the traditional markets. And for this there is need to add value to the quality of labour we export. We must seek newer types of employment that would help offset any negative impact on the markets due to any unforeseen event, as had happened in the recent past. Alongside, the cost of getting foreign employment should also be reduced.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments