‘Stay alert of middlemen’
Speakers at a discussion yesterday called upon prospective overseas workers to remain alert from middlemen to avoid being cheated and to ensure safe labour migration.
Parliamentarians’ Caucus on Migration and Development organised the programme, titled “Migration budget for fairer labour migration”, at the parliament members’ club.
At least 39 Bangladeshis died on May 9, as a migrant boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea with nationals of different countries seeking fortune abroad.
These migrants had left Libya and undertaken perilous journey through the sea in hopes of reaching Europe.
Different media outlets reported that unscrupulous quarters were involved in sending the Bangladeshis through illegal means.
At yesterday’s discussion, speakers including lawmakers, human rights and development activists also called upon the government to increase monetary allocation for the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry in the national budget, to address various problems of migrant workers.
Addressing the discussion, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia said remittance by migrant workers is one of the key forces of the country’s economy. But unfortunately, allocation of money in the national budget for the concerned ministry is not enough.
He also urged all stakeholders to raise awareness among people, so that they are not cheated by any unscrupulous quarter or middlemen in the name of migration.
Fazle Rabbi also assured that he will allocate adequate time to lawmakers if they want to raise their voice in the parliament over safe migration.
Ruling Awami League lawmaker M Israfi Alam, chairman of the Parliamentarians Caucus on Migration and Development, said the government is yet to see success in reducing cost of labour migration.
Lawmaker Aroma Dutta, a member of the caucus, said the government is doing many things for safe migration but people are not aware about it due to lack of publicity.
Presenting the keynote paper, Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants (WARBE), a non-government organisation, said in the 2018-19 fiscal, Tk 594 crore was allocated in the national budget for the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, which was Tk 90 crore less than the previous fiscal year.
He said increament of budget allocation is urgent for safe and legal migration.
Lawmakers Rezaul Karim Bablu and Shamsun Nahar, Ain o Salish Kendra Executive Director Sheepa Hafiza, and secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury spoke at the programme, among others.
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