Country's labour market abroad faces heartbreak
Criminal acts, reportedly by a few Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia, not only harm the nation's image but may also jeopardise the country's huge labour market abroad.
A spokesman for the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry yesterday said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is Bangladesh's largest labour market.
Bangladeshis got the biggest share of the 1.5 million Saudi visas issued in 2007. Bangladeshi workers got 23.50 percent of the 1.5 million visas issued.
The spokesman said unfortunately some Bangladeshis in the Middle East country were engaged in claiming shops illegally, selling banned CDs, running illegal telephone business, stealing manhole covers from roads and footpaths, stealing electricity and telephone cables, and printing fake currency.
These crimes were reported by the Saudi media.
In addition, by violating the Saudi laws, Bangladeshi workers started laying siege, ransacking and calling strike to press home their various demands, according to Saudi newspapers and media reports.
The spokesman of the ministry said such activities have put the image of Bangladeshi workers and Bangladesh in peril. The ministry has already asked the Bangladeshi workers to abide by the Saudi laws.
A negative impact on Bangladesh's largest labour market caused by the unlawful acts by a handful of Bangladeshis cannot be tolerated, he said.
Other Arab countries will observe these events in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that labour markets in those countries are very competitive. Due to lack of awareness, Bangladesh's manpower export to some countries is being impeded.
The spokesman urged the Bangladeshi workers abroad to inform the Bangladesh ministry, embassy/consulate of any of their problems. The government will try to resolve their problems diplomatically.
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