Call for listing illegal recruiting agencies
Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) demanded yesterday that the government make a list of illegal recruiting agencies in the country to mitigate the sufferings of the migrant workers and safeguard them from being cheated.
The outbound workers should be aware of the documentation process and have proper knowledge about it, said Shaheen Anam, executive director of MJF that works to promote human rights and good governance in Bangladesh.
She also said social awareness can reduce harassment of the workers and kick the unscrupulous brokers out of the recruiting business.
She was speaking at a workshop in Manikganj.
Expatriate Welfare Section of District Administration in Manikganj and Brac jointly organised the workshop on "social participation on safe workers' migration" at Singair upazila in Manikganj. The MJF funded the programme.
Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ilyas Ahmed as the chief guest at the workshop said around sixty lakh people are now working abroad and they sent remittances worth around $9.01 billion last year.
On the downside, a large number of workers are retuning home with empty pockets being cheated by the brokers, he said.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Manikganj GM Saleh Uddin presided over the workshop where Additional Superintendent of Police Md Mozid Ali, Singair upazila Chairman Mushfikur Rahman Khan Hannan, Singair Upazila Nirbahi Officer Surya Parvin, Brac officials Shipa Hafija and Laila Arjuman Banu were also present.
Brac official Mujibul Haque presented a keynote paper at the workshop.
Ilyas Ahmed said there are 762 authorised recruiting agencies in Bangladesh for sending workers abroad of which 8 agencies send women workers to Lebanon.
He said most of the workers go to wrong persons and spend a huge amount of money and are cheated.
The government has set up 37 training centres across the country to train the workers, the secretary said, adding that 35 more centres will be established within the next 2 to 3 years. The government has also taken decision to establish an expatriate welfare bank to better serve the migrant workers, he said.
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