When Will the Problems of Remittance Fighters Be Solved?

Remittance is one of the major important sources of foreign exchangein Bangladesh. This remittance is sent by Bangladeshi workers who work in different countries around the world. According to government estimates, there are more than 12 million Bangladeshi workers in 172 countries around the world. At present women are working in abroad as migrant workers also. According to a report of the dailyPrabasi, about 60,000 women migrate to different countries in every year as employment, and sending remittances.

Thus they alsoplay important role in keeping stable the country's economy.According to the Bangladesh Bank, remittances sent by the migrant workers to the country were 259.62 billion US dollar in July, 196.39 billion US dollars in August and 215.10 billion US dollar in September of the 2020-21 fiscal years. In all, in the first three months of the 2020-21 fiscal years, migrant workers sent remittances worth 671.31 billion US dollar, where remittances came to the country in the first three months of 2019-20 financial year about 451.93 billionUS dollar. If we compare the remittances of those two financial years, we can see that the increased rate of remittance is 47.54%. According to the BBS (BangladeshBureau ofStatistics), the contribution of remittances to the country's total GDP is about 12%, which is playing a significant role in maintaining the economic balance of Bangladesh.

Remittances from migrant workers are being used in various developmental and non-developmental activities of the country including trade and commerce, industrial production, educational and health institution. The role of remittances from migrant workers is also remarkable in alleviating poverty and improving people's living standards. According to the World Bank, about 63% of remittance is spent on daily expenses. In this way those families can alleviate poverty. Research shows that after receiving remittances, a family's income increases by 72% compared to before. As the families of the migrant workers live in most of the villages, the income and savings of the rural population are increasing through remittances and as a result the activities of the rural economy are also gaining momentum. Most of the migrant workers who are working day and night to balance the economy of the country were unemployed in the country; the government could not give them jobs. Today, they are known as remittance fighters for their contributions. Although they are remittance fighters, they are still plagued by various problems at home and abroad.

It is often seen that the workers who want to go abroad are not properly aware of the required documents and various types of examinations. Many even resorted to brokers to avoid the harassed of various government directives. As a result, a large part of those who want to go abroad are at risk of cheating while traveling abroad.The main responsibility of ensuring safety and security of migrant workers lies on the Labor Welfare Wing. Although Bangladeshi workers go to 172 countries of the world, Bangladesh has only 30 labor welfare wings to protect and protect their rights.Domestic and foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh have increased fares at an unusual rate by showing the reason for several times increase in the number of passengers.Migrant workers now have to pay 70-80 thousand tk for those routes, in which they used to pay 40 thousand tk.The food and accommodation facilities of the migrant workers are also not satisfactory. A significant portion of workers working abroad die of various diseases. The bodies of many of those who died were not sent to the country on time.

The bodies of these workers are lying in the cold storage abroad for months.Women workers abroad mainly work as domestic workers. Employers often snatch their mobile phones. As a result, women workers cannot communicate with their relatives in their own country. Most of the women workers abroad are sexually harassed by their employers. Women workers have to pay a high charge to change the country's economy and their own economic destiny.Due to the unskillfulness of most of the migrant workers, the expatriate workers of Bangladesh are being deprived of getting a fair salary even after working hard. Having gone to abroad, after sending the family expenses, the migrant workers have to go to be totally exhaustedto get a regular visa and passport. Once, they lose the visa and passport in the grip of the broker. Ordinary migrant workers have to accept the suffering of not getting proper cooperation from our embassy at the right time. Many a times due to non-cooperation of the embassy they are being deprived of the desired facilities and services.

Therefore, the government must take effective steps to protect the rights of migrant workers.If those migrant workers could not go for employment to abroad, then the problem of unemployment in the country would have become more dangerous. If we want to compete in the world labor market, we must focus on creating and employing skilled workers. In this case, according to the long-term plan, appropriate government initiatives have to be taken.An important problem of Bangladesh in terms of manpower export is the lack of money for those who want to go abroad. Expatriate Welfare Bank, Employment Bank and other public-private banks should be used to overcome this problem.Immediate action should be taken to stop harassment of expatriate passengers through Bangladesh Airlines ticket and luggage syndicates.According to BMET data, 19% of the 51% cheated by brokers have failed to go abroad even after paying. The remaining 32% have been cheated after going abroad. Going to abroad on a worker visa from Bangladesh costs around tk 3 to 10 lakh per head. About three-quarters of these large amounts go to the broker's pocket. Illegal immigration is constantly happening because of these brokers. So, the government has to come forward to bring the brokers within certain framework and accountability.More Labor Welfare Wing is needed to ensure proper service, protection and rights of workers. At the same time, the immigration experts think that the existing wings need to be increased.Migrant workers have been demanding access to the country for a long time using separate channels at the airport on their return. The government may also consider this issue.

In order to prevent workers from being harassed and cheated in sending workers abroad, the government must strengthen its surveillance system at home and abroad. Many Bangladeshis have been killed in boat sinking while crossing the sea illegally. Sustainable development and poverty reduction require government monitoring at home and abroad to ensure continued migration and safe migration to the global migration market.On the whole, to stable the economic development of the country, the facilities of the migrant workers must be given priority, and the government has to take important steps in this respect.


Mojammel Hoque Tavriz is a freelance writer and student of Comilla University.