Expatriates' Welfare Minister Nurul Islam yesterday asked labour attachés at Bangladesh missions abroad to put their best effort in serving migrant Bangladeshi workers.
“You have to pay attention to them so the migrants, coming from distant places to the Bangladesh missions, go back with smiles on their faces,” he said at Labour Welfare Conference 2018 -- attended by 44 labour officials of 29 labour wings at the country's missions in 26 countries -- in Cirdap auditorium in the capital yesterday.
“You have to be watchful so the workers do not return empty-handed,” he told the labour officials at the inaugural of the five-day annual conference.
The Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry is organising the conference.
Nearly one crore Bangladeshi migrant workers, mostly in the Middle East, Malaysia and Singapore, send over US $13 billion of remittance to the country every year -- a large amount of foreign exchange that is much-needed for the country's economy. But oftentimes, these workers face exploitations abroad as well as poor service at Bangladesh missions and airports.
At the labour welfare conference diplomats, academics and rights activists exchange ideas on present trends in labour migration, its challenges and the way forward.
Addressing the inaugural session of the conference, Minister Nurul Islam reminded the labour officials to value the Bangladeshi workers' time and money they have to spend for visiting the embassies. None of them “...should go back without getting any service.”
Advising to make regular visits to different workplaces and accommodations of the Bangladeshi workers, the minister urged the labour officials to improve relations with their employers in a bid to facilitate better work and living conditions for Bangladeshi workers.
He also asked the officials to provide necessary support to undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers so their jobs can be regularised.
Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi advised Bangladesh labour counsellors to raise Bangladeshi workers' issues at different international forums and meetings.
He also advised the labour attachés to explore untapped foreign labour markets for the Bangladeshis.
Skilled and disciplined workers are in high demand abroad and without increasing the number of workers, the country's earnings can be multiplied by sending skilled and experienced workers overseas, Gowher added.
Talking to the journalists on the sideline of the conference, Sayedul Islam, labour counsellor at Bangladesh high commission in Malaysia, said the small workforce at the mission there is incapable of handling all queries by Bangladeshi workers.
Expatriates' Welfare Ministry Secretary Dr Nomita Halder and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training Director General Selim Reza also spoke at the conference.
