Increasing human resource export key issue
Bangladesh is set to hold talks with one of its major labour receiving countries Qatar today and tomorrow with a hope to see rise in hire of Bangladeshi migrant workers by the Gulf country.
The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meeting will aim to boost cooperation in labour recruitment between the two countries as well as look into issues regarding migrant workers’ safety and welfare.
The meeting is scheduled for February 2 to 5 in Doha, says a government order.
Secretary of Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry Salim Reza will lead a Bangladesh delegation at the meeting, it says.
According to an official at Bangladesh mission in Qatar, crucial talks on several labour recruitment issues will take place at the meeting.
The under-secretary of Qatar ministry of administrative development, labour and social affairs will lead the Qatari delegation, he added.
Besides, issues on hiring workers and “mutual recognition” of their skills will be given priority, he said, seeking anonymity.
Hiring of Bangladeshi workers by Qatar has declined in past few years.
In 2015, the Gulf country hired about 1.23 lakh Bangladeshi workers and it dropped to 1.20 lakh in the following year, says data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).
In the subsequent years, Qatar hired 82,012 workers and 76,560 workers. Last year, the number was 50,292, says BMET data.
The Bangladesh mission official said like some other Arab countries, Qatar also undertook a policy in 2017, prioritising its own citizens and Arabs over foreign nationals in case of hiring workers in some sectors.
He said Qatar hired many construction workers from Bangladesh for its massive infrastructural development ahead of FIFA World Cup 2022 for which Qatar is the host nation.
Those development activities are about to be completed and the workers will have to seek new employment opportunities, he said, adding that now the Gulf country will need manpower for security and hospitality sectors ahead of the World Cup.
So, Bangladesh can ask Qatar to create opportunities for Bangladeshis in those areas as Qatar has a “rehiring policy”, he added.
Besides, issues on Bangladeshi workers’ safety and welfare will be discussed, he further said.
Qatar has sent back some 2,012 Bangladeshi workers last year, according to Brac Migration Programme.
Many of these workers, who were detained on various grounds before their deportation, have returned empty-handed, says Brac.
Shariful Hasan, head of Brac Migration Programme, said Qatar has been an important labour market for Bangladesh for years as the market in the United Arab Emirates remains closed and Saudi Arabia also suspended its labour market for Bangladesh in recent past.
So, making Qatar labour market a sustainable one for Bangladeshi workers is essential, he said. Shariful also said there are some rights issues of migrant workers in the Gulf country.
Ensuring their timely and handsome amount of wages as well as creating options so that they can change their jobs easily are some areas to address, he said.
He said Qatar also wants cooperation to stop a syndicate allegedly involved in “visa-trading”. “It will be positive if our government and the mission office can effectively work to this end,” he added.
Contacted, Labour Welfare Counsellor in Qatar Muhammad Mustafizur Rahaman said the JTC meeting will focus on “safe, orderly and responsible” migration of Bangladeshi workers.
Qatar has an established institutional mechanism to protect migrant workers’ rights. Besides, the country’s effort to reform its labour law is also praiseworthy, he told this newspaper over the phone.
Qatar had hired some 8.08 lakh Bangladeshis for various sectors since 1976, according to BMET.
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