Provide ethical recruitment standards, better skills
Today, we are observing International Migrants Day, recognising the enormous contribution of migrant workers in driving growth, enriching societies and shaping economies. For Bangladesh, this could not be truer: Bangladesh received a record remittance of $30.32 billion in the last fiscal year. Remittances form the bulk of our foreign exchange reserves, stabilise the balance of payments and sustain millions of households. Yet while we glorify the importance of remittances, we cannot ignore the reality that migrant workers are among the country's most vulnerable citizens, exposed to exploitation, unsafe migration pathways and continued neglect.
Many aspiring migrants have been at the mercy of recruitment syndicates, which are powerful networks involving middlemen, sub-agents and in some cases, licensed agencies. These syndicates charge exorbitant fees that are much higher than the government-set ceilings, which result in these workers becoming mired in huge debts. Once they reach the destination countries, many discover that they have been duped, receive wages lower than promised, face harsh working conditions, or the jobs they had been promised simply do not exist. This paper has reported many times on the high number of deaths of both male and female workers, along with cases of abuse by the employer, lack of access to medical care or places where they can seek help. Migrants are also lured by trafficking cartels to take hazardous journeys by sea, often to be tortured and held hostage by gangs forcing families of the victims to pay exorbitant sums for their release. Many end up dying at sea.
Most migrant workers are low-skilled or semi-skilled and so are restricted to low-paying jobs. Often, countries hosting the highest number of Bangladeshi workers are not always the top remittance sources. Higher remittances come from destinations where migrants are better skilled, even if the number of workers is smaller. Besides, an over-reliance on a few Gulf markets makes labour demand and remittance flows vulnerable to policy shifts, economic upheavals, or geopolitical tensions in these regions. Destination markets have to be diversified and include East Asia and Europe. This requires sustained investment in skills and language training and certification that will be recognised globally.
Government policies must focus on workers' welfare and improving their opportunities. The chief adviser has recently stated that the priority has to be on building a broker and fraudulence-free system. This means breaking the grip of broker syndicates and punishing illegal sub-agents. Human trafficking cases must be disposed of quickly and the perpetrators brought to justice. Skills development, moreover, must be ramped up by the government so that workers can earn more and are less at risk of abuse. Finally, those migrants who return home unemployed and with hardly any savings must be supported through employment schemes, access to credit and social protection. Our migrant workers have proven their value many times over, during economic crises, currency shortages and global uncertainty. It is time Bangladesh truly honoured its migrant workers and provided the support that they deserve.
