The Saudi Arabian authority has asked Bangladesh to reduce the cost of
manpower recruitment saying that the low-paid workers engage themselves
in various illegal activities there to recuperate the high amount of
money they spend as migration cost, officials said Friday.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) officials have set the condition that unless we can reduce the migration cost of our workers, they won't resume recruiting Bangladeshi labourers that remains suspended since 2008," Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told the FE.
He said the government has been working hard to reduce the migration cost, and is hopeful to get a positive result in this regard by the middle of this year.
"Since we have taken various steps to reduce our migration cost, I am hopeful that the KSA will resume the long-halted and much-awaited recruitment of Bangladeshi workers by this June."
Saudi manpower authority has proposed a guideline to stop visa trading, and it is also under consideration of Bangladeshi authorities concerned, he mentioned.
According to the guideline, the local job-seekers who want to go to the KSA will be provided with coupons from the government with the minimum migration cost of Tk 90,000. The recruiting agencies can bring only the workers with coupons for requirement.
Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) director Nurul Islam said the KSA has made it clear that they will not open their market unless Bangladesh fulfils the condition.
The BMET director said the KSA does not want its social system gets hampered by the foreign migrants.
Saudi Arabia beheaded eight Bangladeshi
workers last October for their involvement in a robbery and subsequent murder of an Egyptian security guard in Riyadh.
Presently each of the Bangladeshi job-seekers has to spend Tk 700,000 as migration cost to the KSA, where they earn maximum only Tk 20,000 per month.
Nurul Islam said if it is possible to fix a rational migration cost in line with their salary, the workers will get their immigration cost back within a short time that will help them maintain a disciplined life in the KSA.
He said if the government strictly handles the situation, it will be possible to open the Saudi job market for the Bangladeshi workers within the shortest possible time.
The BMET director also noted that the Saudi employers are very interested to recruit manpower from Bangladesh, considering their hard-working nature and rather low salary demand.
"Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain will visit Saudi Arabia soon, and we hope a decision will be finalised for sending manpower there in full swing," he said.
In January a delegation, headed by the manpower secretary, went to the KSA in a bid to open the job market for the Bangladeshi workers.
The official said the KSA is a very prospective market, where 3.0 million Bangladeshis are employed until now. But during the last three years an insignificant number of manpower went to the country from Bangladesh.
Last year Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) and Saudi Arabian recruiting agencies' association SANARCOM signed an agreement on recruitment of different types of workers, including housemaid, driver, security guard and gardener with the minimum migration cost.
Under the deal, a housemaid will get 600 Saudi rials (about Tk 11,544) per month as salary with free air ticket, food and accommodation, while a driver will get a salary of 800 rials (nearly Tk 15,392) and free accommodation with free food or 200 rials extra (approximately Tk 3,848) for food. Each security guard and gardener will get a monthly salary of 600 rials and free accommodation with 200 rials for food, according to the BAIRA.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) officials have set the condition that unless we can reduce the migration cost of our workers, they won't resume recruiting Bangladeshi labourers that remains suspended since 2008," Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told the FE.
He said the government has been working hard to reduce the migration cost, and is hopeful to get a positive result in this regard by the middle of this year.
"Since we have taken various steps to reduce our migration cost, I am hopeful that the KSA will resume the long-halted and much-awaited recruitment of Bangladeshi workers by this June."
Saudi manpower authority has proposed a guideline to stop visa trading, and it is also under consideration of Bangladeshi authorities concerned, he mentioned.
According to the guideline, the local job-seekers who want to go to the KSA will be provided with coupons from the government with the minimum migration cost of Tk 90,000. The recruiting agencies can bring only the workers with coupons for requirement.
Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) director Nurul Islam said the KSA has made it clear that they will not open their market unless Bangladesh fulfils the condition.
The BMET director said the KSA does not want its social system gets hampered by the foreign migrants.
Saudi Arabia beheaded eight Bangladeshi
workers last October for their involvement in a robbery and subsequent murder of an Egyptian security guard in Riyadh.
Presently each of the Bangladeshi job-seekers has to spend Tk 700,000 as migration cost to the KSA, where they earn maximum only Tk 20,000 per month.
Nurul Islam said if it is possible to fix a rational migration cost in line with their salary, the workers will get their immigration cost back within a short time that will help them maintain a disciplined life in the KSA.
He said if the government strictly handles the situation, it will be possible to open the Saudi job market for the Bangladeshi workers within the shortest possible time.
The BMET director also noted that the Saudi employers are very interested to recruit manpower from Bangladesh, considering their hard-working nature and rather low salary demand.
"Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain will visit Saudi Arabia soon, and we hope a decision will be finalised for sending manpower there in full swing," he said.
In January a delegation, headed by the manpower secretary, went to the KSA in a bid to open the job market for the Bangladeshi workers.
The official said the KSA is a very prospective market, where 3.0 million Bangladeshis are employed until now. But during the last three years an insignificant number of manpower went to the country from Bangladesh.
Last year Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) and Saudi Arabian recruiting agencies' association SANARCOM signed an agreement on recruitment of different types of workers, including housemaid, driver, security guard and gardener with the minimum migration cost.
Under the deal, a housemaid will get 600 Saudi rials (about Tk 11,544) per month as salary with free air ticket, food and accommodation, while a driver will get a salary of 800 rials (nearly Tk 15,392) and free accommodation with free food or 200 rials extra (approximately Tk 3,848) for food. Each security guard and gardener will get a monthly salary of 600 rials and free accommodation with 200 rials for food, according to the BAIRA.
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