Labour migration and associated remittances are a vital component of the Bangladeshi economy, besides being the lifeline for many workers and their families. Efforts should thus be made to create skilled and decent workforce and ensure their safe journey to their destination countries.
With this aim in view, International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently started a project in Bangladesh in association with the government which is expected to run until March 2018. The project will be funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) with a total budget of US$7.25 million. If found viable, it may be extended up to 2021.
The project is expected to contribute to the application of overseas employment policy and support strengthening of public and private institutions to secure decent work for Bangladeshi migrant workers. The initiative will be implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, its affiliated agencies and other stakeholders.
Analysts opine it would help strengthen the institutions responsible for managing migration to deliver quality labour market information, occupational classification, pre-departure training accreditation and welfare services abroad. It will also provide research and technical advisory support for strengthening labour negotiations for decent work and facilitate the engagement of stakeholders.
Needless to say, low-skilled migrants are often the most disadvantaged and are vulnerable to ill-treatment. 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. Continued dominance of low-skilled workers among the outbound migrant poses hindrance in the way of increasing the volume of remittance and also in providing protection to the migrants.
As migration of skilled workers fetches better protection and higher incomes, promoting such work force should be an important policy priority for the government. Attempts should be made to gain re-access into the traditional markets by addressing the problems. New avenues should be sought through deploying effective personnel and attaining policy coherence.
Bangladesh government established the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) back in 1976 to facilitate the creation of a skilled labour force for both domestic and international market. Its responsibilities included the planning and implementation of strategies for creating skilled labour force.
The BMET was meant to help facilitate the employment of Bangladeshi workers through training institutions and by working with foreign employers and recruiting Agents. It is responsible for processing the foreign demands for the recruitment of employees while simultaneously controlling and regulating emigration clearance for overseas employment.
It is supposed to provide institution based vocational and technical training in a variety of employable trades including apprenticeship training. It is also responsible for implementing self-employment programmes and conducting informal, formal and special training courses.
But the fact remains, a few highly skilled manpower could come out through such bureau because of its limitation and lack of required initiatives. Private sector initiatives are not that much encouraging in this respect.
What is more worrisome is that manpower export from Bangladesh has fallen remarkably as no new job market was created overseas in recent times. Moreover, many of the major recipient countries continued restricting recruitment from Bangladesh.
Analysts say the main cause behind the decline in labour migration was the government's decision of not allowing recruiters to send workers who were not registered with the government database. However, in the backdrop of declining manpower exports, the government is now on the lookout for new markets for exporting workers. The African countries where a high-level team is due to visit remain largely unexplored as yet.
The government-to-government labour deal between Bangladesh and Malaysia is, in fact, not working properly. With no new labour markets opening up, it is assumed that the sector is now undergoing its most challenging time. A lot of exercise needs to be carried out to address some of the structural weaknesses that have beset the sector.
In this regard, the government needs to do required homework before exploring new employment markets. There should be a sustained follow-up of decisions taken during visits by government high-ups, usually a neglected area of exercise. Follow-up actions will definitely result in diversifying the country's manpower market exploration.
Labour market watchers say the government is trying to explore labour market 'in its own way,' which is failing to yield any positive result. It should hold a brainstorming session with the recruiting agencies and retired ambassadors to find out a planned course of action, they suggest.
Over the years, Bangladesh has utterly failed to produce tech-savvy skilled personnel due to lack of proper planning and strategies. The end-result is very negative for its economy. The government and the private sector are being forced to hire skilled and tech-savvy manpower from abroad. In such a way, the country's precious foreign currency is being drained out.
It is hard to believe a report that Bangladesh is one of the largest remittance sources of India. It is hard to believe that the Indian expatriates, numbering over 500,000 and working in Bangladesh, sent home as much as $3.72 billion 2014. Most of the Indians are working in the country's burgeoning readymade garment (RMG) and textile industries as well as its numerous non-government organisations (NGOs).
There are many other high-profile technical hands from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and other countries of the world working in Bangladesh and send a hefty sum of money, in aggregate amounts, to their home countries regularly.
It is thus high time now to create a sustainable domestic technical manpower in the country. 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.
