By Xinhua,
DHAKA : Bangladesh will form a labor welfare association aiming to ensure maximum welfare of the country’s millions of migrant workers, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Bangladesh’s Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain has already instructed officials concerned to make a work plan for formation of the association.
“It will be an effective body to protect workers’ welfare as there will be participation of representatives from migrant workers, recruiting agencies and government side,” Director General of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Md Abdul Malek told Xinhua on Wednesday.
A senior official of the overseas employment ministry said wings of this association might also be established in some foreign countries where there are a huge number of Bangladeshi migrant workers.
The overseas wings will work in line with directions from here to make liaison between Bangladeshi and other governments also in creation of new job market, the official said.
Senior Vice President of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agency Mohammad Shamsuzzaman said formation of such a body could also play a vital role in motivating the Bangladeshi workers to send home money through official channels.
According to BMET statistics, over 5.67 million Bangladeshis are living and working abroad.
In 2007-08 fiscal year (July 2007-June 2008), Bangladesh received 7.914 billion U.S. dollars which was more than half of the country’s export earning in the year.