Cabinet approves draft policy on migrants
The cabinet yesterday approved the draft of the "Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy 2016" with a view to ensuring and encouraging safe migration and protection of migrants and their families.
The draft policy has been formulated in line with the international laws on migration, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said the existing short policy framed in 2006 had been elaborated with six policy directives that also included ensuring facilities and welfare of migrant workers, migration of female workers, associating migration with national development and proper planning for labour migration.
The draft policy has a particular chapter on female workers' migration and ensuring their safety, the cabinet secretary added.
In order to ensure safe migration, the government, as per the policy, would take integrated and participatory programmes in consultation with various stakeholders including prospective female migrants, public and private organisations, trade unions, recruiting agencies, employers and international organisations, he added.
Alam said there were specific directives in the new policy for different ministries including those of finance, foreign affairs, home affairs, commerce, and civil aviation and tourism to ensure proper welfare, facilities and safety to migrants.
For example, the home ministry would take necessary steps to check human trafficking, he added.
The cabinet also approved the draft of a protocol on training and cooperation in the field of healthcare between the armed forces of Bangladesh and Turkey.
It also endorsed a proposal to ratify UN-ESCAP's agreement titled "Inter-Governmental Agreement on Dry Ports". The secretary said it would be possible with this ratification to link Bangladesh with the Asian Highway Network and the Trans Asia Railway Network.
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