Minister sees bright prospect of migrant workers

Bangladesh can grab a portion of the global labour market by sending workers to the countries that have higher economic growth but a shortage of labour forces, said a minister yesterday.
“Labour forces are important for the developed countries as they are experiencing a declining trend in their workforce,” Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said.
Bangladesh can seize the opportunity as the country has an abundance of labour forces, the minister said.
Bangladesh sent 6.9 lakh workers abroad in fiscal 2011-12, up by 56.82 percent compared to the previous year.
The government is also working to explore new markets to send more manpower abroad, Hossain said.
He spoke at a workshop on promoting the rights of the Bangladeshi workers, at BIAM auditorium in the city.
International Labour Organisation in collaboration with other agencies organised the workshop.
The minister said Bangladesh's economy was stable due to higher remittance inflows amid the global economic crisis.
Inward remittances grew 10.26 percent to $12.85 billion in 2011-12, compared to the previous year.
“The real figure of inward remittances will be much higher if we count the remittances that come through informal ways,” economist Prof Abul Barkat said.
World Bank's data showed the real remittance figure of Bangladesh will rise by 15 percent from the existing figure, said Barkat, also the president of Bangladesh Economic Association.
"Goldman Sachs recognised Bangladesh on the list of 'next 11' emerging countries as we have human, physical and national capital," the economist said.
“Now we are talking about quality remittances,” he said. Barkat stressed the need for reducing migration cost and providing special benefits to the migrant workers.
On Padma bridge financing, he suggested issuing bonds with special interest rates for migrant workers and diasporas.
More than Tk 98,000 crore can be raised from 14 domestic sources to build the Padma bridge with own resources, including migrant workers and non-resident Bangladeshis, he said.