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The Bangladesh Labor Exporters Association, the Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA) has informed the parliamentary committee.
At the meeting of the Parliamentary Commission on the Welfare of Expatriates and Employment Abroad held in Parliament, a written statement was made on behalf of Baira.
Baira says the Saudi Arabian embassy has requested a separate police check even though he has a Bangladeshi passport. In addition, the visa process has been suspended. That process takes a long time.
“Once that verification comes in, the visa expires. As a result, employers are reluctant to hire Bangladeshi workers.”
According to a circular from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Dhaka, repatriation of an employee is costly and time-consuming, and it is almost impossible for 30 to 40 percent of employees to enter the workplace in the process.
Baira called on the government to make strong diplomatic efforts to facilitate the process.
More than 2 million Bangladeshis work in various professions in Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich country in the Middle East.
Of the 62 1.62 billion in remittances received in fiscal year 2019-20, only ১ 401.51 billion were sent by Saudi expats.
Expats from Saudi Arabia who arrived in the country during the coronavirus epidemic, the country’s government resumed flights, but the danger came from leaving Bangladesh.
After Saudi expats protested to get plane tickets, the complication eased, but the suffering of expatriates is not over yet.
The complications of returning to Saudi Arabia were cut short
Visas for Saudi expats have been extended until October 30
According to Baira, some 6,000 workers in the hands of the recruitment agency could not be sent to Saudi Arabia due to the epidemic, and 80 percent of their visas have already expired. It is difficult to collect the visa in the new process.
To address the current situation, he has proposed the formation of an inter-ministerial coordination cell, including those with Baira, competent or high-level personal contacts with the Saudi government.
To address the Covid-19 situation, Bayer’s recommendation further states that those workers who were unable to return to work due to the epidemic after arriving in the country for various reasons, including license, or those whose visas have not expired, should create an emergency database.
Meanwhile, Baira called the human trafficking law enacted in 2012 harassment for recruiting legitimate recruiting agencies and demanded that they stay under the immigration law enacted in 2013.
“We, the owners of legitimate recruitment agencies who send workers abroad, none of us are involved in human trafficking,” Baira President Benazir Ahmed told reporters after the parliamentary committee meeting. But it is seen that the arrests are made immediately after any incident, it is harassment ”.
A written statement signed by Baira President Benazir Ahmed and Secretary General Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman demanded that the recruitment agency not close before investigating allegations of fraud or breach of contract.
According to a press release issued by the Parliament Secretariat, the commission was informed by the ministry at the meeting that the licenses of 204 recruitment agencies were suspended this year due to allegations of irregularities and corruption. In early 2019, the licenses of 183 agencies were suspended.
At the meeting, the parliamentary committee recommended that anyone other than the registered person and organization engage in any kind of transaction with expatriate workers and punish them.
The meeting was informed that according to the policy of the Salaried Welfare Board, only the families of legal and registered deceased migrant workers have to pay compensation of Rs 3 lakh, but now it has been decided to provide this assistance to families of illegal or unregistered dead migrants considering the coronavirus epidemic.
The ministry said there were several plans to help expatriates affected by the epidemic, including the extension of visas, the extension of flights and the provision of financial assistance. The parliamentary commission will hold the necessary discussions with Bangladesh Biman at the next meeting to facilitate the workers going abroad.
The members of the committee, the expatriate minister of Welfare and Overseas Employment, Imran Ahmed, Ali Ashraf and Sadeq Khan, participated in the meeting under the chairmanship of the chairman of the committee, Anisul Islam Mahmud.
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