No restrictions on hiring workers from Bangladesh
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not have any restrictions on hiring Bangladeshi workers and its mission in Dhaka issues around 1000 work visas everyday, said the Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dr Abdullah Bin Naser Al-Busairi at a press conference yesterday.
The comment is significant as the Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi on March 23 this year declared a ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in agriculture and household sectors to strike a balance among various nationalities working in the kingdom.
When approached, another Saudi embassy official told The Daily Star that the Saudi ban on recruiting Bangladeshi workers has not been implemented yet.
The Saudi envoy at the press conference said his country will not do anything that affects the interests of the Bangladeshis working in the Gulf country.
"A small number of workers create problems by their misdeeds, but the huge number of Bangladeshis, about 17 lakh, cannot be blamed for that," Dr Abdullah Bin Naser told the reporters.
Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia will continue to enjoy the good relations and can not be affected by any small problems, he added.
Stating that Saudi government respects all Bangladeshi workers who have enormous contribution to the economy of that country, the envoy said Bangladesh, however, should control the recruiting agencies to stop fraudulent practices in labour recruitment process that lead to deprivation of the labourers.
"There are some Bangladeshi recruiting agencies who do not abide by the contracts," he said, adding that they prepare one type of job contracts in Bangladesh, but once the workers are in Saudi Arabia they change it.
These agencies do not train the workers or teach the traditions and laws of the Saudi Arabia required by the Saudi employers, the new envoy said.
Asked how Saudi government takes actions against the middlemen in the Kingdom contributing to the increase in migration cost of Bangladeshi workers, Dr Abdullah Bin Naser said, "If anyone in Kingdom charges higher fees, bring it to my attention, I assure you I will look into it."
Asked if Saudi government would fix any minimum wage for foreign workers, he said this depends mainly on the contracts between the workers and the companies that employ them.
The recruiting agencies, therefore, should negotiate with the Saudi employers about the wages, he noted.
The ambassador also said Muslim World League will organise an international conference in Madrid on July 16-18 to discuss cooperation, human rights, peace and security.
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