Dhaka to seek compensation for innocent workers

Bangladesh will request Kuwait to consider compensating the Bangladeshi workers who were innocent but injured and deported following strikes in demand of pay hike and better working condition late July this year.
Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who leaves for Kuwait today, will also seek the Gulf nation's cooperation to make sure that the Bangladeshi cleaning workers get recently declared minimum wage of Kuwaiti dinar 40.
He will also propose signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries to protect workers' rights, a foreign ministry official told The Daily Star.
Iftekhar, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, is going to Kuwait after over a month of strikes by Bangladeshi workers.
During his two-day visit to Kuwait, home to around 2.5 lakh Bangladeshi workers mostly involved in low-skilled category jobs, the adviser is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Sabah Al- Salem Al Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sheikh Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, the foreign minister and other senior officials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
"Some workers deported by the Kuwaiti authorities after the labour strikes said they did not take part in the strikes but were victims of the incident. The foreign adviser will request the Kuwaiti authorities to consider compensating them," the official added.
Many workers upon their return also told The Daily Star most of the deportees were innocent but were arrested by Kuwaiti police, tortured and then deported.
As many as 1,286 workers were deported until August 31. Deportation of some of them, however, is not linked to the strike, the official added.
Following the labour strikes, Kuwaiti authorities declared the minimum wage KD 40 for the foreign cleaning workers and are taking various measures against those who cheated the workers. The Kuwaiti government is also scheduled to hold a special session in parliament on expatriate labour issues this month.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) during a meeting with Iftekhar at his office said the adviser should explain the issue that Bangladeshis are normally peace-loving people, but tortures on them and their deprivation were so acute that they were forced to go on strike.
Innocent Bangladeshi workers were paid less than half the salaries they were promised and provided shabby living rooms, Baira President Ghulam Mustafa told The Daily Star.
"During our meeting with the adviser we said there were workers of other Asian countries in the strikes too. But our workers are simple and innocent and therefore they were the victims. The Kuwaiti authorities also should identify the actual masterminds behind such strikes," he said.
The foreign adviser should also raise the issues with the Kuwaiti authorities of compensating the deportees and sending all their arrears and belongings they behind, Mustafa said.
The Baira also expressed its concern, saying manpower export from the country will witness a downtrend in near future, as major labour markets like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Malaysia are now issuing limited number of visas for Bangladeshi workers.
"We requested the foreign adviser to take immediate diplomatic steps to take up the issues with the major labour hiring countries. We also said the manpower in the Bangladesh missions should be strengthened and made efficient and labour-friendly," Mustafa said.
At the same time, the government should not arbitrarily take punitive measures against the recruiting agencies; it should rather take corrective measures to improve the overall overseas labour issues, he added.