Joint body to manage recruitment process
Bangladesh and Libya have formed a joint committee to manage the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers and ensure their welfare in the North African country.
“The six-member committee--three members from each country--will meet every three months in Dhaka and Libyan capital Tripoli for greater cooperation in human resources development, overseeing manpower recruitment and workers' welfare,” said Ghulam Mustafa, president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira).
He was speaking at a press conference at the Baira auditorium in the capital after his return from Libya.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain led a six-member delegation including Ghulam Mustafa, which met Libyan ministers for labour, agriculture, health and foreign affairs. The team returned on January 16 after a four-day visit.
Mustafa said the two countries would jointly establish an outsourcing company to send Bangladeshi workers to the small and medium firms in Libya.
“Initially, the company will hire 5,000 workers from Bangladesh to send them to the companies in Libya and ensure their salaries and facilities,” he said. Private recruiting agencies, however, will also continue to manage labour recruitment there, Mustafa noted.
Besides, five world-class technical and vocational training centres would be set up and run in Libya, said Ghulam Mustafa. Libya will provide infrastructure while Bangladesh will provide teachers, curriculum and machinery for the training institutes, he added.
The joint committee would manage the technical institutes and outsourcing company, the Baira leader said.
Starting early last year, Libya has so far hired some 30,000 Bangladeshi workers and intends to recruit many more, mostly for its booming construction sector.
But a range of malpractices was reported in the recruitment process, which led to the return of many Bangladeshis and their unemployment or underemployment. Besides, brokers have sent many workers on visit visas or forged visas.
During the visit of the Bangladesh delegation, both sides agreed that from now on Libyan labour ministry would inspect the companies before allowing them to hire Bangladeshi workers. And Libyan embassy in Dhaka and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment will examine the job contracts, said Ghulam Mustafa.
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