Reza Mahmud :
Labour migration from Bangladesh declined in the just concluded calendar year amid squeezing job opportunities in key labour markets abroad.
A total of 7,01,000 Bangladeshi workers went abroad with jobs in 2019 against 7,34,181 in previous year (2018), while the number was 108,525 in 2017.
The latest data compiled by the Bureau of Manpower and Employment and Training (BMET) showed it.
In 2019, a total of 3,60,024 Bangladeshi workers migrated to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 67,177 to Qatar, 45,7,75 to Singapore, 18,735 to Jordan, 11,250 to Kuwait and 9266 to Iraq.
Besides, 6932 workers went to Mauritius, 4581 to Lebanon, 3373 to Brunei Darussalaam, 2986 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 1344 to South Korea and the rests to other countries, show the BMET data.
Bangladesh sent a record number of 10,08,525 workers abroad in 2017.
“The labour migration dropped due to a number of factors including high migration cost, squeezing job opportunities in Gulf States and halt in manpower import by Malaysia,” Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit’s (RMMRU) founding Chairman Dr Tasneem Siddiqi told The New Nation.
She said, Bangladesh heavily relies on manpower exports to traditional markets, especially on the oil-rich Gulf nations but their recent policies badly impacted on labour migration from Bangladesh. “The government had failed to find any markets for the migrant workers due to the lack of coordination between the Labour and Employment Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry,” she added.
Bangladesh’s labour export is the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings behind readymade garments.
Remittance inflow hit a record $18.32 billion in the just concluded year of 2019, growing by 17.89 per cent against $15.54 billion in 2018, according to Bangladesh Bank.
“Labour migration decreased last year due to shrinking demands for unskilled workers in the international market,” a BMET high official said adding that Bangladesh is
heavily relying on exporting unskilled labour for years. But now it focuses more on sending skilled workers in order to sustain its overseas labour markets.
He said Malaysia, the second biggest labour market for Bangladesh, has halted hiring local nationals, which adversely impacts on the country’s overall labour migration.
“I am hopeful that Malaysia will take workers from Bangladesh this year and it will have positive impact on the country’s overall labour migration,” he said. However, the government has set a target of sending 750,000 workers overseas in 2020 despite a fall in manpower export last year.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad announced the target at a programme, organised by the Reporters for Bangladeshi Migrants, in Dhaka recently. “It’s a very conservative target. Hope we will go beyond it,” he said, adding, that the government has taken initiatives to send workers to at least six new destinations.”
Labour migration from Bangladesh declined in the just concluded calendar year amid squeezing job opportunities in key labour markets abroad.
A total of 7,01,000 Bangladeshi workers went abroad with jobs in 2019 against 7,34,181 in previous year (2018), while the number was 108,525 in 2017.
The latest data compiled by the Bureau of Manpower and Employment and Training (BMET) showed it.
In 2019, a total of 3,60,024 Bangladeshi workers migrated to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), 67,177 to Qatar, 45,7,75 to Singapore, 18,735 to Jordan, 11,250 to Kuwait and 9266 to Iraq.
Besides, 6932 workers went to Mauritius, 4581 to Lebanon, 3373 to Brunei Darussalaam, 2986 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 1344 to South Korea and the rests to other countries, show the BMET data.
Bangladesh sent a record number of 10,08,525 workers abroad in 2017.
“The labour migration dropped due to a number of factors including high migration cost, squeezing job opportunities in Gulf States and halt in manpower import by Malaysia,” Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit’s (RMMRU) founding Chairman Dr Tasneem Siddiqi told The New Nation.
She said, Bangladesh heavily relies on manpower exports to traditional markets, especially on the oil-rich Gulf nations but their recent policies badly impacted on labour migration from Bangladesh. “The government had failed to find any markets for the migrant workers due to the lack of coordination between the Labour and Employment Ministry and Foreign Affairs Ministry,” she added.
Bangladesh’s labour export is the second biggest source of foreign exchange earnings behind readymade garments.
Remittance inflow hit a record $18.32 billion in the just concluded year of 2019, growing by 17.89 per cent against $15.54 billion in 2018, according to Bangladesh Bank.
“Labour migration decreased last year due to shrinking demands for unskilled workers in the international market,” a BMET high official said adding that Bangladesh is
heavily relying on exporting unskilled labour for years. But now it focuses more on sending skilled workers in order to sustain its overseas labour markets.
He said Malaysia, the second biggest labour market for Bangladesh, has halted hiring local nationals, which adversely impacts on the country’s overall labour migration.
“I am hopeful that Malaysia will take workers from Bangladesh this year and it will have positive impact on the country’s overall labour migration,” he said. However, the government has set a target of sending 750,000 workers overseas in 2020 despite a fall in manpower export last year.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad announced the target at a programme, organised by the Reporters for Bangladeshi Migrants, in Dhaka recently. “It’s a very conservative target. Hope we will go beyond it,” he said, adding, that the government has taken initiatives to send workers to at least six new destinations.”
