Establish transparent migration process

Immigration experts yesterday called for establishing a transparent migration process to bring discipline in the labour migration process, saying irregularities are affecting the sector greatly.
A section of brokers and recruiting agencies take advantage of the information gap of overseas jobseekers, which ultimately gives birth to anomalies, they said at a workshop.
Bangladesh Migration Development Forum (BMDF) organised the workshop titled “Conceptual understanding on migration and trafficking: Bangladesh perspective” at Cirdap auditorium in the city.
Addressing as the chief guest, Expatriates' Welfare Ministry Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan said the home ministry is drafting an anti-trafficking law but some fear that it will affect the labour market.
“I don't think so. This is the digital age. Everything should be transparent,” he said, adding that the migrants going abroad must have proper documents.
Irregularities in the sector resulted in the ban on Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, he said.
Those who went abroad forty to fifty years back, even through improper channels, became permanent workers. But now the systems are changing. It may not be the case that those going abroad now will be regularised, he noted.
Home Ministry Joint Secretary Dr Kamaluddin Ahmed said there are cases that the agencies or brokers allure workers to go abroad and get them in trouble even when they migrate voluntarily.
These are the issues that will be addressed by the Anti-Human Trafficking Act (draft), he said.
The problems in the labour migration are artificial and so reforming the laws concerned and enforcing them properly can bring transparency in the migration process, he added.
Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury termed the anti-trafficking act (draft) a black law, saying it will be detrimental to Bangladesh's labour markets.
The Emigration Ordinance 1982 is enough to regulate the recruiting agencies and this can be amended instead of framing an anti-trafficking law, which mixes migration with trafficking, he said.
Immigration lawyer Dr Uttam Kumar Das said one may be a trafficking victim even after legal migration and in the same way may become a successful migrant even after being trafficked.
So, including all under a common law is necessary, he said.
BMDF Vice President Professor Ishrat Shamim, Razia Sultana of Winrock International and Samsun Nahar Aziz Lina of BMDF presented papers.
BMDF Vice President Syed Mahbub Elahi and General Secretary Jamal Uddin Ahmed also spoke at the workshop chaired by BMDF President Rabeya Sultana.