Migrants' welfare
Photo: Tanvir Ahmed / Driknews
A new desk has been opened at the arrival lounge of Zia International Airport in Dhaka recently. Thanks to the initiative of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) of the Government of Bangladesh and International Organisation for Migration (IOM). However, merely the infrastructure and ceremonial opening will not bring any difference to the mostly illiterate migrant workers unless the people posted there are sympathetic and cooperative enough. Others in the government and working for them also need to change their way of understanding to face the reality. The migrant workers have been sacrificing their blood and sweat (alongside personal and family lives among others) to boost the foreign exchange earnings of the country, however, the government and policy makers are apparently indifferent to their plight, which includes abuses and exploitations in the migration process at home and abroad. Even, the major political parties have failed to show their due attention to the migration sector in their election manifestos. The role of the civil society with regard to promotion and protection of the rights of the migrant workers is not up to expectation. Although, there are certain organisations active in the area, their credibility and purpose is not beyond question. The understanding among the relevant officials to protect the rights of migrants is likely to mean only providing welfare allowance to the family of a deceased migrant (if he is lucky enough to go through the 'official channel'). However, protection has a bigger connotation. According to government statistics, during 2007-08 fiscal year, the migrant workers have sent US$ 7.91 billion. During 2007, it was US$ 6.5 billion. During the same year, 832,000 individuals had jobs abroad. During January-November of this year (2008), 839,677 had overseas jobs. An estimated 61% of them arranged jobs through their personal contacts, while 21% had jobs through the recruiting agencies. The contribution of the public enterprise, BOESL in this regard is around 1%. The wrongdoings of the unscrupulous recruiting agencies and individuals are going on unabated, which is alarming indeed. The government is likely to pay its attention to increasing the number of the individual migrants. Unfortunately, it is not paying due attention to other important issues like raising the skills of the potential migrants, increasing salaries through bargaining and negotiations, upgrading the living and working conditions for the workers in the receiving end, extending adequate consular services, and curbing exploitation of the individual migrants during the migration process and afterwards among others . According to press reports, a large number of migrants have been lured into paying huge amounts to the unscrupulous middlemen and so-called recruiting agencies. As citizens, the migrant workers are entitled to have due protection from the State. For this, the civil society and all others have a role to play. As the Adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has been quoted as saying: ""To sustain and enhance benefits of migration, it is imperative that we create an environment that supports and protects migrant workers." Those words need to be translated into action.
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