Seeking and capturing new labour markets

Bangladesh's expatriate labour market has so far been mainly Middle East dependent. However, the post-corona crisis, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and above all the political-economic instability in the Middle East, the labour market is shrinking.

It should also be remembered that most of the workers who are currently living in different countries are unskilled workers. As a result, they work hard and get paid less and can send very little money back home.

Given that situation, in the second meeting of the National Steering Committee on Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for exploring opportunities for foreign employment in new countries.

In addition to this, she emphasised on sending skilled and trained workers to different countries of the world, so that they are able to earn more and send more money back home.

The Prime Minister advised expatriates to shun the illegal hundi route and remit their self-earned money through legal channels i.e., banking channels, so that they can benefit from the incentives provided by the government. Above all, you can be encouraged to save.

The latest labour market opening for Bangladesh is in Malaysia, which is good news in the current global crisis. An agreement has also been signed with the governments of the two countries in this regard.

Malaysia will take hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi workers in the next few years. Earlier, there was an agreement with Greece to send agricultural workers. An agreement has been signed with Serbia to send skilled workers to that country.

After a long time, Bahrain has opened the labour market for Bangladeshis. Efforts have also been made to legally send workers to Japan, Romania, Poland and Bolivia.

The way for newcomers has also been smoothed as the legalisation of 100 million Bangladeshi workers living illegally in the Maldives has been granted.

Despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the movement of Bangladeshi workers abroad has not stopped, but has increased. 

The Expatriate Welfare Minister said that ten lakh Bangladeshi workers went abroad in search of livelihood in the outgoing financial year. The finance minister said that there is a target of sending more than ten lakh labourers in the next financial year.

But emphasis should be placed on sending skilled and trained workers. Then expatriate income will get faster in the future.

Bangladesh must work to capture the European labour market as an alternative to the Middle East. For example, Greece is a European country on the Mediterranean Sea. 

An agreement was signed between the governments of Greece and Bangladesh on 9 February 2022 for safe immigration and employment of Bangladeshi workers in this developed country. 

This is the first agreement to take Bangladeshi workers to the labour market of any European country. Under this, the Greek government will provide a 5-year visa for Bangladeshi workers in the country's agriculture, tourism and garment sectors. 4 thousand Bangladeshi workers will go to the country every year.

Eastern European countries are Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. These countries have opened the doors of employment for Bangladeshi workers in construction, shipbuilding, agricultural sector, industrial factories, garment manufacturing industry, caregiving and restaurant industry. 

Romania has given visas to 16,409 Bangladeshi workers from 2020 to 2022. 

It is also being talked about in Italy. Many Bangalis already live in that country, and there has also been talk about taking seasonal workers. Malta wants to take the same. Besides, there is a demand to take workers from other countries.

To reduce Middle East dependence, personnel should be sent to Moldova, Serbia, Yugoslavia, Albania, Croatia and Malta. The government should make efforts to sign bilateral agreements, memorandum of understandings and JTUJI agreements with other countries including Italy to recruit skilled workers.

People are going to Bosnia and Herzegovina; they are also going to Romania. Italy was also supposed to offer an opportunity to hire temporary workers, meaning seasonal workers. 

Since there is currently no official agreement for the recruitment of workers from Bangladesh to Germany, the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment must try to sign a JTUG agreement with the German government to get the benefits of the country's labour market.

Finally, the number of remittances of expatriate Bangladeshis is after the export earnings of ready-made garments to earn foreign exchange. 

However, in the financial year 2021-22, the income of expatriates through legal channels has decreased by 21 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

Mainly due to the increase in the dollar price, more expatriate income is being sent to the country through hundi and other means. The finance minister himself said that 49 percent of expatriate income comes through formal channels. Fifty one percent comes through informal channels. 

On a positive note, the expatriate income has increased at a promising rate due to the incentive of 2.5 percent in legitimate channels. It is expected to increase in the future. But Bangladesh must seek and capture the potentials of new markets.

Indrajit Kumar is an educator, columnist, international affairs analyst and freelance researcher. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.