Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh’s migration sector remains mired in greed and deception, leading to increasing harassment of expatriate workers and denying them fair treatment.
Industry insiders and experts observe that the absence of accountability among recruiting agencies, coupled with a lack of commitment from the relevant authorities, has worsened the plight of those who significantly contribute to the national economy through substantial remittance inflows.
“From acquiring a passport for overseas employment to returning home after completing their contracts, Bangladeshi expatriate workers face repeated instances of harassment at every step. Upon their return, they rarely find a platform to utilise their skills and expertise,” Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s Migration Programme, told the Daily Sun.
He noted that Bangladeshi expatriate workers incur the highest migration costs globally, only to receive the lowest wages, while the government remains powerless to regulate the expenses associated with migration.
For instance, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has set the maximum migration cost for Singapore at Tk2,62,270. The cap for Saudi Arabia is Tk1,65,000, for Bahrain Tk97,780, for the United Arab Emirates Tk1,07,780, for Kuwait Tk1,06,780, for Oman and Qatar Tk1,00,780, and for Malaysia Tk78,990.
However, in practice, outgoing workers typically spend between Tk4,00,000 and Tk8,00,000 to migrate to each of these countries – a threefold increase over the past 15 years.
Shariful Hasan attributed the situation to an unholy alliance between recruiting agencies and intermediaries, government inaction, and a general lack of awareness among workers.
He remarked that there has been a persistent trend of sending unskilled workers abroad without meaningful efforts to improve their skill sets.
“Whenever a new market opens up, recruiting agencies rush to send workers there until the market closes due to irregularities. Often, workers arrive in destination countries only to find no employment and are compelled to return, despite having valid documentation. Yet, the recruiting agencies are never held accountable,” he said.
According to the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board and BRAC, around 6,73,570 migrants have returned to Bangladesh in the past decade after becoming undocumented abroad – despite originally migrating through legal channels.
On average, Bangladeshi workers spend approximately Tk5,00,000 to migrate abroad. Based on this estimate, families of returnees have collectively spent at least Tk340 billion (34,000 crore) for migration.
Excluding visa fees and airfare, most of these expenses have gone into the pockets of recruitment agents or brokers. Migrant workers who once left in hopes of transforming their lives are now returning as burdens to their families.
Migration expert Asif Munier noted that the sector has faced the same problems for the past two decades, yet recruiting agencies remain unaccountable.
“The government failed to send 18,000 workers to Malaysia, even though they had completed all formalities. Nor did it ensure the refund of their deposited funds, despite announcing at least three deadlines,” he told the Daily Sun.
Munier, also an independent consultant, explained that while multiple ministries and departments are involved in the migration process, a clear lack of coordination persists.
He pointed to bureaucratic apathy in addressing the interests of expatriate workers.
“There is no market study, research unit, planned skill development programme based on destination country demands, international accreditation of training certificates, or adequate staffing at embassies and high commissions where most Bangladeshi expatriate workers reside,” said Asif Munier.
“Our migration sector still relies heavily on a few Middle Eastern countries, amid restrictions from major destinations like Malaysia, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and the Maldives,” he added, stressing the need to explore new markets and improve workers’ skill sets.
Shariful Hasan criticised the state’s lack of investment in expatriate workers, pointing out that funds for repatriating deceased workers and other welfare activities come from the workers’ own deposits.
He also expressed disappointment that although the interim government formed several reform commissions for different sectors, the migration sector was excluded.
Asked about the deception and harassment of expatriate workers, Dr Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, senior secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, stated that agencies overcharge because people are willing to pay.
“It is not humanly possible to monitor every transaction. If people are willing to pay whatever is demanded, agencies will never lower their charges. I urge aspiring workers to lodge formal complaints with proof so we can take action,” he said.
Regarding illegal visa trading, the Secretary noted that when agencies are found guilty, their licences are revoked. “However, dishonest individuals exist everywhere, including in the destination countries,” he added.
He also mentioned ongoing efforts to explore new destinations for Bangladeshi workers and expressed optimism about reopening some suspended markets.
Currently, around 14 million Bangladeshi migrants work abroad, sending remittances that constitute 3.3 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than half of its foreign reserves.
According to the “World Migration Report 2024”, Bangladesh ranks sixth globally in terms of international migrants and eighth in terms of remittance inflows.
