Forma # 1.ai - ICAB

interviews with returned workers
reveal that they had to spend on
average about Tk. 2 lakh. Besides,
discussion with a group of South
Africa bound Bangladeshi migrant
workers at Dubai Airport revealed
that, the workers were contracted
to pay Tk. 6 lakhs each if they
were successful to finally enter
South Africa.99
As is known, three banks are
currently offering specialised loan
facilities to the migrant workers. A
study on migrant workers
conducted by Refugee and
Migratory Movements Research
Unit (RMMRU) indicates that, only
97 aspirant workers had so far
received loans from these banks in
2010. The study also pointed out
that high interest rate and lack of
efforts on the part of the banks’
officials at the field level tends to
discourage potential migrant
workers from taking loans from
the offering banks.
Changing Preferences of
Major Labour Importing
Countries
The problem from the supply‐side
has been compounded by the
policies of some of the host
countries. KSA and Malaysia are
two relevant examples. The GoB
has been trying to address the
situation through high‐level
official visits and discussion at
various levels. Tangible results of
these efforts are yet to be seen.
Some of the key manpower
importing countries appears to
have shifted their focus from
traditional manpower exporting
countries to prospective new
ones. According to a number of
returned migrants and recruiting
agents, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia
now prefer workers from Nepal. It
may be mentioned here that
Nepal alone has sent about
18,019 workers to Saudi Arabia
and more than 42,454 to Malaysia
during July‐October period of
FY2010‐11.100 To compare,
Bangladesh’s manpower export to
these two countries during the
same period was 1,742 and 434
respectively.
There is a need for more persistent
diplomatic efforts to change the
situation. It may be recalled here
that recently the Malaysian
government has offered to recruit
a sizeable number of Bangladeshi
workers on ‘G to G’ basis (i.e.
government to government basis).
Bangladesh should try to take
advantage of this opportunity by
ensuring that the rules and
regulations stipulated by the host
country are strictly adhered to.
Unscrupulous Practices by
Recruiting Agents
Besides charging abnormally high
processing fees, a number of
recruiting agents in Bangladesh
are reported to provide false
information to aspirant migrant
workers regarding job contract,
wages, tenure, fringe benefits, etc.
This, on many occasions, result in
illegal stay of workers in the host
countries as they leave the initially
contracted job due to
disagreement over wages and
benefits. Furthermore, some of the
returned migrants have also
informed that a number of
recruiting agents offer job
contracts in overseas companies
which do not have appropriate
vacancies. As a consequence,
these migrants get engaged in jobs
offered by other companies, a
practice which is considered to be
illegal by the host countries.
Besides, anecdotal information
also suggests that some recruiting
agents from a number of other
labour exporting countries
(including Nepal) are engaged in
sending Bangladeshi workers to
the Middle‐East and other
destinations, with fake passports,
by introducing them as citizens of
their own countr . This does not
seem unreal in view of the fact
that Bangladesh has an abundant
supply of workers willing to go
overseas and countries such as
Nepal are short of workers when
compared to the large number of
offered job opportunities. Such
practice also increases migration
cost as the aspirant migrants have
to go through indirect routes to
reach the destination countries.
There has been a significant
deceleration in the growth of
remittance inflow to Bangladesh
during the first five months of the
current fiscal (July to November).
Total remittance inflow has
declined by (‐) 1.7 per cent over
this period compared to the same
period of FY2009‐10. To compare,
remittance rose by 24.4 per cent
in FY2009‐10. A number of factors
have contributed to this situation.
Decelerating Manpower
Export
As Figure 18 suggests, there is a
correlation between the negative
growth in remittance inflow and
the deceleration in the flow of
overseas migration. Remittance
inflow from major manpower
importing countries except
Malaysia has seen a fall over the
recent months, to varying degrees.
Although the ‘stock effect’ should
have, at least in the near‐term,
compensated for the (lower) ‘flow
effect’, it is disquieting to see that
lower levels of migration has
tended to be accompanied by
lower remittance flow.
32
January - March 2011
The Bangladesh Accountant