Sustaining gains from labour migration

Dependence on a single country to send workers at any given time and the continued dominance of low-skilled workers among the outbound migrant stock are some of the major impediments that need to be dealt with in right earnest. Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

In 2012 Bangladesh secured US$14.17b as remittances. A proper appreciation of the importance of the remittances to the national economy can only be arrived at if one juxtaposes the flow of remittance with other types of foreign exchange flow to the country. Last year the amount of remittances was equivalent to 10 percent of the national income and was 3 times higher than the net foreign exchange earnings of the apparel-manufacturing sector. The remittances figure was 6.4 times higher than much coveted foreign development assistance and as much as 12.5 times more than the greatly sought after foreign direct investment that flowed into the country during the corresponding period. In terms of employment, all other sectors have a combined capacity of absorbing about 100,000 workers annually, labour migration created opportunity for employment of more than six times that number. A number of studies have demonstrated the positive impact of remittances on the migrant household and community levels. Thus the importance of labour migration to the national development efforts of the country can hardly be overemphasised.
Over the years there has been an increased recognition of the contribution of the labour migrants to the national economy. The establishment of a separate ministry, the framing of an Overseas Employment Policy, the creation of a specialised bank for serving the migrant workers, the ratification of the 1990 UN Convention on Migrant Workers, the celebration of the International Migrants' Day at the government's initiative and the committed efforts to frame a new law on overseas employment can all be seen as incremental and yet vital steps in acknowledging the importance of the role of remittances of migrant workers to the national economy.
Needless to say while the above measures in all likelihood will yield major gains for the sector, a lot needs to be done to address some of the structural weaknesses that have beset the sector. Dependence on a single country to send workers at any given time and the continued dominance of low-skilled workers among the outbound migrant stock are some of the major impediments that need to be dealt with in right earnest. Addressing these issues will go a long way in massively increasing the volume of remittance and also in providing protection to the migrants.
An examination of the data of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) reveal that during the period of mid-1970s to mid-1980s Bangladeshi workers were absorbed in a number of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Oman. However, from the mid-1980s migration to 2004 Saudi Arabia became by far the most important destination country for the vast majority of the Bangladeshi workers. In 2001 and 2002 the country absorbed almost two-thirds of the total number of Bangladeshis deployed for overseas employment. However, since then the annual flow of migrants to Saudi Arabia tapered off. With an ebbing flow at 31.83 percent of the total flow Saudi Arabia remained in the top spot in 2005 but from the following year it was the UAE that became the most favoured destination of Bangladeshi migrants.
From 2006 to 2012 the percentage of flow of migrants from Bangladesh to the UAE hovered at around 50. With 54 percent the figure peaked in 2009.

However, in late 2012 the Emirates put in place measures that restricted the rate of issuance of visas to Bangladeshis.
Malaysia has been an unpredictable destination for Bangladeshi migrants. As early as 1996 it was the second most important destination with about 31.5 percent Bangladesh's total number of migrants going to that country (with Saudi Arabia accounting for about 34 percent that year). However, the flow could not be sustained due to inconsistency in policies of Malaysia and it was only again in 2007 that there was a sharp rise in the flow. In that year the country secured the top spot as the most important destination of Bangladeshi workers. After sustained efforts the recent resumption in the flow of workers to Malaysia may again turn the country a major destination of Bangladeshi workers.
Oman has turned out to be the third most important destination of Bangladeshi workers with about 24 and 28 percent of total workers going to the country in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Between 8 to 10 percent of the total number of Bangladeshi workers being absorbed for the last four years, Singapore has remained a steady destination country.
As against this encouraging trend BMET figures also inform that since 2002 there has been a steady decline in the flow of workers to what has been traditionally the most important destination of Bangladeshi workers, i.e., Saudi Arabia. The figure dropped to as low as 3.09 (2009), 1.81 (2010), 2.65 (2011) and 3.50 percent (2012). For several years Kuwait has remained virtually closed to Bangladeshi workers. If the UAE continues to pursue its current policy of restricting the flow from Bangladesh then this is likely to have a major impact on the composition of outbound Bangladeshi migrants in the foreseeable future.
Common sense dictates that Bangladesh reduces its dependency on a single country to send its workers at any given time. On one hand, efforts must be directed in securing re-access to countries that continue to admit workers from sources other than Bangladesh. On the other hand, policies and measures are to be framed for finding new avenues for deployment of workers.
The alleged involvement of a section of Bangladeshi workers in criminal activities have been identified as a major cause for concern by some Gulf states including Saudi Arabia. While little empirical evidence is furnished to support such a claim, it is certainly far-fetched to argue it is only Bangladeshi workers who are engaged in such unacceptable activities. Knowledgeable sources inform in several high profile cases, although the local media pointed fingers at the Bangladeshi workers, subsequent investigations proved otherwise. It may very well be true that an insignificant fraction of Bangladeshis get lured into criminal activities that are often masterminded by others.
Generally the world over, migrants are docile and law-abiding, and tend to keep away from trouble. Their propensity to criminal activities increases if they are deprived of their due earnings, are ill-treated and lack access to legal redress. The lack of labour regulation and social protection, particularly those in the informal sector in many of the Gulf states, and the pervasiveness of the kafala system lead to many abusive practices by employers. Lack of opportunity to transfer jobs from abusive employers leaves little option but to quit assigned jobs and thus become irregular. It is this section of deprived workers who are likely to fall victim to ill activities of criminal gangs. Failure of the sending governments to address the plight of these so-called “irregular” workers and to highlight the ill effects of the kafala system has contributed to a culture of impunity for the employers and recruiters of the receiving states.
Some labour-receiving countries have been alleged to have expressed their displeasure about the high migration costs incurred by labour migrants from Bangladesh. It is true that Bangladeshi workers have to pay much higher fees than their other South Asian counterparts to take up foreign employment and thus there is a strong case for accountability and regulation of the labour recruitment industry. However, a couple of important factors that shore up the migration cost are hardly taken up at the bilateral discussions with labour-receiving countries and also at the multilateral forums such as the Colombo Process and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue. These are the wrongdoings of informal intermediaries and the practice of trading visas that takes place at the receiving countries’ end. There is a strong case for labour-sending countries to voice their concerns on these issues both bilaterally as well as collectively.
Diversification of labour markets requires well thought out measures both at home and abroad, and demands policy coherence. Capacities need to be developed to examine the labour demands in the context of development plans and demographic changes in the labour-receiving countries. Such examination must go beyond the traditional markets of Gulf/Arab states and the countries of East Asia. It should take on board the shifts in the industry and services sectors and the potential demands for labour in the context of ageing population in many western societies.
Policy makers must recognise that it is the individual migrants, often in irregular status, who pave the path of new migration corridors. Social network contributes to subsequent migration. Therefore efforts are to be directed to track new locations and avenues of work that individuals and groups are pursuing. This requires staffing of Bangladeshi missions with dynamic, motivated and well-trained personnel with the ability to go beyond their routine tasks. Partnership with research bodies and policy coherence among the stakeholders, particularly coordination among the concerned ministries (Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and Foreign Affairs) is a necessary condition for achieving success in this regard.

Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

BMET data informs that Bangladesh is hugely dependent on low-skilled workers. This group of workers accounted for as many as 52.23 percent of the 8.3 million people who migrated on employment since 1976. The 2012 data further reports low-skilled constituted as high as 62 percent of the total number who migrated that year. Needless to say that low-skilled migrants are often the most disadvantaged and are vulnerable to ill treatment and abuse. In many instances they work in the informal sector and thus are beyond formal cover of the labour laws of the countries concerned and social protection.
As skilled migration leads to better protection and increases income of migrants, promoting skilled migration has been an important policy priority for the government of Bangladesh. In order to impart technical training the government has set up 38 technical training centres (TTCs). However, a rudimentary assessment of the TTCs reveals that although much emphasis has been laid on infrastructure development, little attention has been paid to improve the quality of training and capacity of the trainers. As many as 40 percent of the trainers' posts are reported to have been lying vacant in the TTCs. There is little scope for the trainers to secure advanced training on courses they specialise in. There is also little scope for those trained in those institutions to get absorbed in jobs overseas. The inappropriateness of content and quality of training on trades that are in demand internationally contribute to such mismatch.
It is in this context an assessment of the usefulness of the TTCs of the BMET and other training institutions under other ministries of the government has become imperative. Given the fact that migration secures work opportunities six times higher than opportunities that are available locally, there is a strong case to gear up the technical and vocational training centres to cater to international labour needs.
Three vocations can be targeted in this regard: nursing, care services and hospitality. Unfortunately very little attention has so far been paid to train people in such courses. Advanced training in nursing has been enmeshed in bureaucratic tangles of various ministries with a myopic regulatory regime. Likewise, no measure has been taken to promote and facilitate training in tourism and hospitality – a sector that requires service personnel of different skills and tiers all over the world. The growing affluence in some parts of the world and the ageing population in other parts will necessitate the services of various types of care providers. Needless to say, none of these vocations have elicited any major government initiative with regard to training personnel for the international market.
The above discussions lead us to note that although a number of measures have been undertaken to streamline the labour migration sector in Bangladesh, dependency on one country at any given time and on low-skilled workforce has been its major weakness. In order to secure optimal gains there is an urgent need for diversifying the labour market and to up-scale the skills of the labour force. While attempts must be made to gain re-access into the traditional markets by addressing the problems in their proper stride, new avenues should be actively sought through deploying effective personnel and attaining policy coherence. The discussion also draws attention to the institutional and policy weaknesses that exist with regard to skills training. It identifies three trades and calls for establishing an enabling policy regime so that appropriate training can be imparted in those trades.
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The writer is professor of International Relations, University of Dhaka.