Minister seeks complaints of high migration costs

Expatriates' Welfare Minister Nurul Islam has sought written complaints of high migration costs so that the ministry can take punitive actions.

“Nobody makes written complaints about it. How can we take action?” he said during a press conference at the expatriates' welfare ministry auditorium.

“Please give us written complaints,” he asked migrants.

High migration costs have been a real challenge as Bangladeshis were found spending one of the highest amounts of money to migrate abroad, while getting low wages.

Researches found that migrants often face forced labour to recoup the high costs. It takes two to three years to recover the money and pay lenders as they borrow from them at home.

The minister's statement read out at the conference does not highlight the issue, prompting heated questions from the reporters.

When a reporter asked why Saudi Arabia-bound migrants are being charged Tk 5 lakh to 6 lakh when the government-fixed rate is Tk 1.65 lakh, the minister said none had filed any complaint about it.

Another reporter pointed out that there were syndicates in the overseas labour recruitment sector and that the government was not acting properly to stop such malpractice.

In reply, the minister said, “No, there is no syndicate. We don't know.”

Expatriates' Welfare Secretary Begum Shamsunnahar, however, said there were Bangladeshi brokers in the labour-receiving countries as well as in Bangladesh, and that they were involved in visa trading, which raised migration costs.

“We are communicating with the ministries concerned [in destination countries] and our embassies to identify them [those trading on labour visas],” she said.

Minister Nurul Islam boasted of sending 7.57 lakh Bangladeshi workers abroad last year against 5.55 lakh in 2015.

Though the number of migrants going abroad went up last year, the amount of remittance came down to US$13.61 billion from US$14.004 billion in 2015.

Quoting a World Bank report, expatriates welfare ministry's Additional Secretary Jabed Ahmed in his presentation said falling oil prices, recruitment of locals in the Gulf countries, and sending of remittance through informal channels were reasons behind the decline in remittance last year.

The ministry has a target of sending eight lakh Bangladeshis abroad for jobs in 2017.

For skills building of the overseas jobseekers, the ministry planned to add 40 more technical training institutes. Presently, there are 70 such training centres and construction of 40 is underway.

Minister Nurul Islam said the government had a plan to bring all migrant workers under an insurance scheme, and establish residential schools for migrants' children.

Formation of a national steering committee, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is underway in line with the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy-2016.