Importance must be given to legal immigration and sending skilled workers
The country’s population is growing. Along with this, the number of unemployed people is also increasing.
The foreign labour market could play a role in providing employment for a large number of our unemployed people.
But the reality is that the country’s immigration sector is plagued by various problems, the main one being created by dishonest syndicate and brokers.
The Chief Advisor to the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, also shed light on this issue at a function organized on Wednesday to mark International Migrants Day and National Expatriates Day 2025.
He said that the labour market abroad is being damaged due to fraud by syndicate and brokers.
Whenever people are sent to different countries, allegations of fraud are found in documents. He expected that the next elected government will continue necessary initiatives in this regard.
Mentionable, December 18 is International Migrants Day and National Expatriates Day. The theme is “We will take skills abroad, build our homeland with remittances”.
As elsewhere across the world, the day was also observed in Bangladesh with due importance.
Crimes such as illegal sending of workers and human trafficking have been committed for a long time by using syndicates and brokers to send workers abroad.
Along with these, there are various allegations including fake documents and corruption.
That is why labour migration has been stopped in several countries at different times. Currently, our migration has been mainly limited to a few countries.
According to the latest report by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RAMRU), the vast majority of migrants each year go to 12-13 countries in the Gulf, other Arab, East and Southeast Asia.
In five years, 97 percent of workers have gone to just 10 countries. Last year, 90 percent of Bangladeshi workers migrated to just six countries.
Of these, 60 percent went to Saudi Arabia. To overcome this situation, it is necessary to focus on sending skilled workers through legal channels.
The curricula of technical education and vocational training centers should be made according to international standards.
It is common for expatriate workers to be harassed and robbed at the country’s airports.Their luggage was cut at the airport and their belongings were stolen. Such incidents are very disappointing.
There is talk of ensuring the safety of the country’s citizens abroad, but their safety cannot be ensured at home!
Emphasis should be placed on acquiring skills in foreign languages, computers, machine operation, construction, driving.
It is expected that as the number of skilled workers increases, the path to exporting manpower through legal channels will also become easier.