Bangladesh human resources

[Maisson]

Qatar reopens labour market for Bangladeshis

Independent Online/UNB

Qatar has reopened its labour market for Bangladeshi workers after a closure for several months.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad told UNB on Wednesday that the decision came at a joint technical committee meeting held in Doha. “The decision is effective from today,” he said.

He said there will be huge demand for Bangladeshi workers in Qatar as the next the FIFA World Cup will be held in the country in 2022.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Selim Reza was present at the meeting.

Secretary General of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman told UNB that the Qatar labour market is open for Bangladeshis as the country withdrew its ban.

Expressing his satisfaction over the decision, he said Bangladesh could be able to send 2-3 lakh workers to Qatar.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/views/superannuation-fund-a-smart-plan-for-private-employees-1629298645

 

Superannuation fund-- a smart plan for private employees

 Md Shamsul Arefin | Published:  August 18, 2021 20:57:25

The Sustainable Development Goal 8 is committed to "decent work and economic growth", meant to ensure fair wages and social protections for the working-class people by 2030. The Eighth Five-Year Plan (July 2020-June 2025) of Bangladesh provides for the extension of existing intensive social-security plan for the people at large while eliminating poverty and narrowing inequality. The superannuation plan can be a good option for materialising the commitment enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goal 8 and the Eighth Five-Year Plan (July 2020-June 2025).  

Decent work and economic growth under goal 8 include workers' financial security, access to financial services such as pension, gratuity, provident fund, group insurance and other social-safety-net plans. We have most of the financial-security plans for government workers and employees such as pension and gratuity. But the private sectors, NGOs, and informal sectors have been facing huge challenges to provide financial security for their workers. Thus, the private sector remains vulnerable during pandemic or any kind of economic shocks or recession. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada introduced superannuation plan for all employees, including private-sector employees and workers, for protecting their financial benefits after retirement.  

Most employers provide various retirement benefits to their employees to retain their trained employees for a longer period and making them resilient  to economic shocks or recession due to pandemic or any other reasons.  Superannuation benefit is one which is used as a retirement benefit offered to employees by their employers. This is different from pension or gratuity or provident-fund provision or any social-security plan of the government. Pension or gratuity is a compensation package of the government that needs government's treasury support.  Provident fund needs contribution from the employees themselves, thus sometimes less attractive to them. But superannuation is a plan where industry contributes for their labour. Actually, industries do not contribute, they calculate total gross salary of the employees, then at least 10 per cent of the basic pay is deducted as superannuation charge and invested on behalf of the employees in an insurance company to grow their capital. In fact, many employees may not even know that they have been provided with superannuation as the contribution to the superannuation does not go from their pocket. The industry has been protecting their future under a framework where none is losing, rather everyone is winning. Intention of the industry is to protect their employees from any future unnatural financial shock such as economic recessions and/or pandemic.

Australia introduced superannuation as a fund that people pay while they are working, so that they receive future payment when they stop working or become old.  Superannuation funds refer to the retirement benefit offered in the form of monthly old-age payments. Superannuation is compulsory for all people who work in Australia. Australian Federal law dictates minimum amounts that employers must contribute to the superannuation fund for their employees, on top of standard wages or salaries. Employer shall pay contributions in accordance with the superannuation act on behalf of each eligible employee to an approved Superannuation Fund or Scheme.   It is an organisational pension programme created by a company for the benefit of its employees. In other words, it is referred to as a company pension plan.

Today, most companies of developed and developing countries offer superannuation scheme to support their workers in the private sector. Usually, companies take superannuation plans from any of the approved insurance companies who arrange a strong pension plan for their employees. At the time of retirement or resignation, employees have the option of buying a superannuation-linked pension from any other insurance company. If an employee resigns from a company and moves to another company, he can transfer his superannuation funds to the new company. Interest from a superannuation fund is tax-free as superannuation plan is a monetary compensation plan to benefit employees. An employee can make use of the funds at times of incapability to continue work or any disaster period.

While the burden of pension and other social-safety-net programmes create huge load on government's budgetary obligations, superannuation has asserted itself as a viable policy alternative to help retired workers in the private sector.

Superannuation plan benefits private employees, workers by encouraging them to save for their retirement through superannuation contributions. At the same time, superannuation plays a stabilising role in the economy that reduces reliance on the government's pension scheme which spends from the national budget.  Once we had seen a move in 2015 to introduce a universal pension scheme for retiring people, including private-sector employees. But it did not get momentum, maybe, due to huge pressure on  public exchequer. Without involving any contribution from public exchequer, superannuation is the best option to introduce old-age payments for the retired employees or workers of the private sector.  The informal private-sector employees such as transport workers, factory workers, shop or mall workers, industry workers, restaurant workers, garment, leather, pharmaceuticals, jute, ship-breaking, cold storage, plastic, chemical, fertiliser, construction workers, cleaners, security personnel, rickshaw-van pullers etc employ 86.2 per cent of the workforce in Bangladesh. But the provision for any old-age-payment plan or scheme like pension of government employees after retirement is absent for them. In order to achieve the targets enshrined in SDG goal 8 by 2030 and to implement the workforce poverty issues under the Eight Five-Year Plan, superannuation plan for  private-sector workers should get due priority.  

The Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation Act 2006 under the Ministry of Labour and Employment or a separate Act in this regard may find options for the superannuation plan by taking example of the best practices of the world for the protection of old-age financial benefits of the millions of workers in the private and the informal sectors of the economy.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/education/overwork-culture-1629310957

Overwork culture

 Sirajum Munira Tuli | Published:  August 19, 2021 00:22:37

"Focus on your skill development now," "increase your efficiency; it's for your own good," "You have the potential to be the 'Performer of the Month.' Just stick to it" -- these are some common offerings to the new entrants in the corporate-work culture. And there are few who can differ.
"It's like a scheme of capitalism. It will say you are the best and no one else can do this without you (making you more responsible for it)," shared Sajib Sakhawat, a fourth-year student of Physics at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST). Although May Day established the eight-hour workday long ago, Sajib reasons, office makes it easily 10/12 hours a day with those sweet traps.
The writer asked some private employees to share their experiences regarding the corporate world. For obvious reasons, many did not feel it right to speak up, while some shared their experiences with an anonymous identity.
"When I joined the job as a copywriter, the group had a few more members apart from me. At the end of the day, everyone's quantity of work was noted. From the day when the 'Performer of the Month' was introduced, they all started working even during the break," Mehedi Hasan (pseudonym), content creator of a private company, shared.
"As a result, my performance dropped compared to them. If I didn't have lunch on time, that was physical torture. And if I had, there was a team leader's comment on my efficiency, which was breaking my confidence."
Can an employee's productivity really be determined by the number of tasks? When there are many types of people working in a team, some provide quantity, some provide quality, some provide creativity. How reasonable is it to calculate the efficiency of all with similar criteria?
"One of the most commonly used metaphors for the basics of business strategy is 'If there is a hole, fill it. If there is no hole, then make a hole and fill it.' The assurance of skill development of the corporate houses reflects the same," Shuvro Chowdhury, a junior software engineer at a reputed local IT firm, shared.
The bottom line is that when the office does not have enough scope to provide employees with skills development, in most cases, they create illusions. "Suppose you have various social media apps known and used for communication. But without using those, they will introduce you to a random app. Over time, you will comfort yourself by thinking that you learnt something new."
"When the percentage of work decreases, the team leader often says- 'The evaluation of promotion will be from here.' I know about the state of my eye-sight in the last few months by doing my own good (!)," Nishat Majumder, a senior copywriter of a private advertising agency, was speaking.
"If I can do eight hours equivalent work in just two hours, the office will not let me sit idle for the remaining six hours, even if I'm sick. So why would I do so much work together? When they announce 'Worker of the Year,' they will evaluate who worked overtime and who took less leave than others." she added.
In this case, to hear the story of the other side of the coin, the writer talked to some senior officials who had different perspectives to share. "If the effort to bring out the best from the employees is called overwork culture, then who would be responsible for increasing the efficiency of an incompetent immature worker?" asked Fariha Nowshin, expansion sales lead at Staff Asia Limited.
"Everyone has some potential inside them that they are not using just because of laziness or apathy. If some members in a team are not working sensibly, someone, who can pull off 10 tasks within a time period is doing only five-- then there is no point to deal with company loss to protect their individuality." If efficiency and productivity can be increased by a little inspiration and co-operation, thinks Fariha, the real success of a team-lead or HR lies there.
According to Fariha, an employee will feel pressure only when s/he is not enjoying the job. In that case, everyone should explore what s/he likes to do. She shared how difficult it was for her to catch the target of writing 12 copies a day. But when she finally made it there, her team leaders treated it rather lightlly, mentioning that he used to write 15 copies during his time in that position.
She was not disappointed by those words. Rather, she doubled her enthusiasm and improved her skills so much that she even wrote up to 33 copies a day. "The road from five to 33 was never stressful to me because I loved my job. And if I didn't take that as inspiration, I would never know about my capacity too," she smiled.
"Whether it's an IT firm or any other corporate house, regular overtime working is never a good practice. It's painful to the employees and degrades the quality of work," remarked Bipon Biswas, senior UX designer at Pridesys It Limited. "But I find it very unprofessional to neglect the responsibilities by calling them 'overwork' when it comes to dealing with a deadline."
While recruiting employees, he recalls mentioning during the interview about such occasional overtime work. Since everyone's responsibilities in a company are shared separately, according to him, remembering the responsibilities in special circumstances, the employees should cooperate with the company to face the deadline.
There will be competition in the job market, there will be hard work and fatigue; in between, there will be success, happiness and self-development. The key is to decide what attracts one the most.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2021/08/22/uae-sheltering-afghan-refugees-may-jeopardize-bangladesh-s-labour-export

UAE sheltering Afghan refugees may jeopardize Bangladesh's labour export

 Tribune Desk

 Published at 06:22 pm August 22nd, 2021

The evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on US aircraft in the coming days

Bangladesh’s export of labour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is likely to suffer as the Gulf country has decided to host Afghan refugees against the backdrop of political instability in Kabul and other cities, sources said.

The UAE has agreed to host 5,000 Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan on their way to other countries, according to Gulf News.

The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced that following a request from the United States, it would host the Afghans on a temporary basis, after which time they would travel on to other nations.

The evacuees will travel to the UAE from the Afghan capital of Kabul on US aircraft in the coming days.

What it means for Bangladesh

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has again asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to open its labour market that has plummeted since 2015.

Bangladesh Ambassador to UAE and Permanent Representative to IRENA Md Abu Zafar made the request when he called on Undersecretary of the Ministry for Human Resources and Emiratization of the UAE Saif Al Suwaidi at latter’s office in Dubai last week.

Bangladesh exported 215,452 workers to the UAE in 2012 and the number of workers dropped to 14,241 in 2013 . The country exported 1082 workers in 2020, 3,318 workers in 2019, 3,235 workers in 2018, 4,135 workers in 2017 and 8,131 in 2016.

The UAE Undersecretary was assisted by Abdulla Ali Rashid Alnuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary of Communication & International Relations and other high officials of the Ministry while the Ambassador was accompanied by the Consul General of Bangladesh in Dubai and Deputy Chief of the Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Former Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) director Zillur Rahman while talking to Dhaka Tribune, said the BAIRA leaders are closely watching the Afghan situation. 

Zillur Rahman, also a member of BAIRA, said  Bangladesh is expecting to recover the labour market in the Gulf country after vaccination started both in Bangladesh and UAE.

The meeting discussed the whole gamut of bilateral cooperation and engagement in the areas of the continued employment of Bangladeshi workforce in the UAE and skill development before their arrival in the country. The UAE undersecretary highly commended the hardworking and adaptive aptitude of Bangladeshi workers and appreciated the remarkable contribution they have made to the socio-economic development of the UAE over the last four and half decades.

While thanking the UAE leadership for hosting Bangladeshi workers in their country and taking good care of them even during the pandemic, the Ambassador underscored the importance of job- centric training and orientation of the workers before their travel to UAE as well as on-arrival orientation on the workers’ rights, working condition, UAE language and culture etc.

He put special emphasis on protection of the rights of the vulnerable groups, particularly the female domestic workers.

To this effect, the envoy made a proposal that with the support of the UAE government and private sector,  Bangladesh can either designate or set up dedicated training institutes in Bangladesh and also develop suitable training modules for workers wishing to take up employment in the UAE.

He further proposed that the UAE should consider introducing “Skill Certification” of the returning workers who have gained right skill in any trades owing to their long years of work in the UAE.

The ambassador also conveyed Bangladesh’s readiness for hosting in Dhaka the first meeting of the Joint Committee (JC) on implementation of the MoU on the recruitment of domestic workers from Bangladesh.

He also appreciated the UAE government for granting the opportunity to, like other nationals, visiting Bangladeshi nationals to take up employment  in the UAE and then transfer their visit visa to employment visa at ease while looking forward to the re-opening of UAE job markets for general category of Bangladeshi workers along with other nationals that has remain suspended owing to the C-19 pandemic situation.

The UAE side welcomed the proposals made by the ambassador and expressed their willingness for holding the Joint Committee Meeting in the coming months in Dhaka. 

The UAE side stressed establishing a comprehensive and sustainable process that would cover all aspects of migration - namely proper training of the workers, transparent selection and recruitment process, wage protection, end-service benefit, rights and duties of all stakeholders (employers, employees, recruiting agents and  the governments). They expressed that the whole issue would be discussed in detail during the forthcoming joint committee meeting.

They also discussed the ways and means for close cooperation between the two countries in different international forums for mutual interest in this field particularly, in Abu Dhabi Dialogue, Colombo Process and International Organization for Migration. The issue of returning Bangladeshi nationals with UAE residence stranded in Bangladesh due to Covid-19 related travel ban was also discussed. The meeting ended with exchange of gifts from both ends.

Meanwhile, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to the gulf state, home to around one million Bangladeshis, the issue was discussed between the two governments without any breakthrough.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said: "I did discuss the issue with the Foreign Minister of the UAE in Abu Dhabi on January 14. I also requested him to make an official declaration stating the reopening of the UAE labour market for Bangladeshis in full scale."

The labour market of the United Arab Emirates will re-open in full scale for Bangladeshi migrant workers if certain conditions are met, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has told Dhaka Tribune.

He dwelt on conditions attached to securing jobs as well as a building of awareness among prospective Bangladeshi migrant workers about relevant laws and regulations of the emirates, rules and norms of their society, and significant reduction of migration cost.

Most importantly, the Bangladesh foreign minister said: "The UAE wants migration costs to come down significantly."

[Joel Ahmed]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/bangladesh-needs-shock-responsive-social-safety-net-prog-experts-1630123071

Bangladesh needs shock-responsive social safety net prog: Experts

 FE REPORT | Published:  August 28, 2021 09:57:51 | Updated:  August 28, 2021 14:21:21

Bangladesh needs to adopt a shock-responsive social-safety-net programme with perfect identification of the extreme poor, experts at a webinar said on Thursday.

Such a social protection strategy will not only prevent inclusive and exclusive errors from the state-sponsored financial or non-financial benefits but also give enough impetus to the economically vulnerable groups to cope with shocks like Covid-19 pandemic and climate change-induced events, they said.

To achieve the target, they also laid emphasis on proper integration of the government and non-government initiatives alongside enough focus on the protection of indigenous communities or minority groups.

The suggestions and observations came at the webinar, titled 'Eradicating Extreme Poverty: Emerging lessons & approaches'.

The event is part of the integrated dialogue campaign 'Bangladesh Miracle - Celebrating 50 years of Development Progress of Bangladesh', organised by the Innovision Consulting Private Limited in association with The Financial Express and the Department of Economics at North South University.

Syeda Saima Ahmed, elected local government representative, London Borough of Redbridge, UK, moderated the virtual dialogue where CARE Bangladesh country director Ramesh Singh delivered a welcome speech.

Mr Singh said the pandemic badly impacted economic and social activities of Bangladesh like other countries in the world and it increased the level of poverty, with adding emerging new poor.

Citing recent data from the country's planning commission, he said the rate of extreme poverty rose from 10.5 per cent to 20.5 per cent in June, 2021 because of the pandemic.

The commission also estimated that the incidence of poverty increased from 20.5 per cent to 29.4 per cent due to the adverse impact of the highly infectious viral disease, said Mr Singh.

"It is a high time to explore and focus on innovation and sustainable programmes for poverty reduction," CARE Bangladesh's country director emphasised.

While presenting a keynote paper, Managing Director of the Innovision Consulting Md Rubaiyath Sarwar said Bangladesh had moved forward after facing many unique challenges over the years.

But Covid has exposed some of the vulnerabilities, including weaker shock-absorption capacity of the urban poor than that of the rural counterpart because of low savings, he said.

Mr Sarwar said non-poor had become extremely vulnerable due to the threat of market dysfunctions and mounting threat on urban economy.

"So, the slippage risk is very high," he said, suggesting recognition of the new poor before bringing them under social safety net coverage.

He also recommended introducing the social safety net programme for returnee migrant workers alongside strengthening social protection for sticky population like ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, transgender, internally displaced communities and sex workers.

Speaking at the event, professor of economics at University of Dhaka Sayema Haque Bidisha said there were differences between poverty and vulnerability, extreme poor and poor, existing poor and new poor.

"So, when we are designing the policy framework, we must keep these aspects in mind," she underscored.

She said the price volatility issue did not get enough importance while talking about poverty. "It is extremely important to keep the price level at a tolerable rate not only for the poor people but also for the middle-income group as well," Mrs Bidisha said.

To ensure price predictability, she suggested strengthening the capacity of OMS (open market sale) and monitoring the market in an effective way.

She said the pandemic gave a lesson to think of a poverty reduction mechanism going out of the box.

"We've to focus our discussion on occupation-based poverty and vulnerability because some occupation groups are very vulnerable falling back to poverty in dealing with shocks like the Covid-19," she said.

Highlighting the importance of proper targeting, Fatima Jahan Seema, social research coordinator of CARE Bangladesh, said an effective way of targeting could actually bring a lot of success.

There are many targeting tools but the country needs a good combination of methods including community engagement, she added.

Talking about the factors that help sustain graduation, Dr Mehrul Islam, senior director (PEARL Unit) of CARE Bangladesh, said social resilience among the poor and extreme poor needed to be developed.

He also highlighted the need for a multi-pronged strategy for eradicating poverty from society.

Masing Newar, programme and policy officer (safety net reform) of WFP Bangladesh Country Office, said Bangladesh continued to experience consequences of global climate change while Covid-19 showed how devastating and prolonged shocks like the pandemic could easily derail poverty progress and create the new poor.

"So, a shock-responsive social safety-net programme can be introduced by providing additional support and services during or before the crisis to the beneficiaries," she further said.

There are very few social safety net programmes targeting the ethnic minorities, but no such programme is being implemented for indigenous communities in the plain land where 80 per cent least focused groups are living, she pointed out.

Supreme Court lawyer Md Rejaul Karim Siddiquee said existing laws and policies on poverty alleviation were not fully compliant with the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

He said an inclusive atmosphere for such communities was needed for alleviation of poverty.

"There are many laws and policies but these are not being implemented. That's why, persons with disabilities are not getting the benefits of the poverty eradication programmes," he opined.

Dr AKM Atiqur Rahman, professor of the Department of Economics at North South University, said manufacturing and service sectors had played an important role in eradication of urban poverty but these income generating areas were hit hard by the Covid-19.

On the other hand, agriculture and non-farm activities largely contributed to reducing poverty in rural areas and these two areas are least affected by the pandemic, he observed.

So, urban people are much more vulnerable compared to the rural population, but coverage of the social safety net in urban areas is poor, he said.

Talking about the budget, Mr Rahman said the government spent more than 3.0 per cent of the national budget as a percentage of GDP. "But it actually comes down to less than 1.0 per cent if we concentrate only on poverty alleviation," he added.

Anowarul Haq, social development adviser at British High Commission in Dhaka, said the government and development partners completed ultra-poor graduation programmes sporadically.

"This is the time to think about a nationwide ultra-poor programme that will allow poor people in various income generating opportunities. The policymakers can think about innovative approaches to it," he said.

For that, he suggested a collaborative model involving both the government and non-government organisations.

Humaira Aziz, director (women and girls empowerment programme), CARE Bangladesh, highlighted the importance of non-farm activities for empowerment of women, girls and marginalised groups.

She suggested pouring more investment to reduce the existing gender gap in the market.

Dr MA Baqui Khalily of the Department of Business Administration at the University of Asia Pacific said Bangladesh had been growing but the growth was not inclusive and systematically distributive.

"That's why, a good number of populations remain outside, failing to reap the benefits of this economic growth," he said.

Extreme poverty alleviation requires, as Dr Khalily observed, a different programme and focus because moderate poor can, somehow, manage to get access to some financial or non-financial interventions.

"But alleviating extreme (poverty) needs a special programme because of its diverse characteristics. My point is that the extreme poor got to be treated separately," he added.

He also emphasised on targeting efficiency to avoid mistargeting and ensure perfect identification of the extreme poor.

The other organising partners of the event included Nextgenedu, mPower, CARE Bangladesh, ICCO, GAIN Bangladesh, WaterAid, Simprints, BIID, Pathao, Anchorless Bangladesh, Sarabangla, ColorsFM 101.6, Windmill Advertising, Young Economists' Forum (YEF) and Printagraphy.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2021/08/31/speakers-job-opportunities-in-rmg-sector-to-shrink-for-growing-automation

Experts: Job opportunities in RMG sector to shrink for growing automation

 UNB

 Published at 10:13 pm August 31st, 2021

The use of automation and advanced technology would rise massively soon in Bangladesh, says Dr Abdur Razzaque

Experts at a virtual dialogue on Tuesday said though there is huge potential to boost the country’s apparel export in future, the employment generation would be shrunk in the readymade garment (RMG) sector due to the growing use of automation in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era.

Since the RMG sector will go through a massive change in the next seven to eight years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Bangladesh’s graduation into a developing country. So, it is time to prepare the sector, particularly its workers by upskilling and reskilling them, for the changed future, they said.

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs Bangladesh and Christian Aid Bangladesh jointly arranged the dialogue titled “Bangladesh’s RMG Sector and Workers: Anticipating the Future” in a virtual platform.

Dr Abdur Razzaque, chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), said Bangladesh uses some 140 workers to make readymade garments of $1 million, But China and Vietnam use only 48 workers and India and Cambodia use 75 workers.

“So, the use of automation and advanced technology would rise massively soon in Bangladesh. That means our apparel export will be increased by $30-40 billion in future, but the sector may not generate new employments,” he said.

Dr Razzaque, also director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), said Bangladesh has a lot of opportunities to export RMG goods to the European Union, the UK and the US in future.

Prof Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the workers fell into various uncertainties due to the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

So, the state, garment entrepreneurs and worker leaders, researchers and civil society will have to lead collectively to ensure the rights of workers, he said putting emphasis on strengthening coordination among the labour unions.

Convenor of Citizen’s Platform Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, who presided over the dialogue, said the RMG sector is going through changes centring 3Ps – product, production and productivity. The handling 3Ps would be a big matter for Bangladesh in future, he said.

“Now Bangladesh should pay its utmost attention to the workers in the changing situation,” he said adding that the real income and non-wage benefits of workers, education and health of the future workforce will be taken into consideration giving focus on the women worker.

Dr Debapriya said it is essential to create an emergency fund for the workers to bring them under a universal social protection coverage in any difficult time.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of CPD, said the RMG sector will go through a radical change in the next seven to eight years.

“The country’s apparel sector can’t survive in the global completion without going for automation and modernization,” he said.

Bangladesh needs to promote the light engineering sector to generate new employment in future, he said.

Former BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq said the light engineering sector has a huge potential. “So, it is high time for us to make investment in the light engineering sector. We should design a mid-term plan, not long-term plan over how we can go to the light engineering sector,” she added.

Dr Rubana Huq put emphasis on the preparation for the potential changes in the RMG sector in the 4IR era.

Towfiqul Islam Khan, Senior Research Fellow of CPD, presented the report of a study conducted over 500 RMG workers’ households in four districts – Dhaka, Chittagong, Gazipur and Narayanganj — in June last focusing the workers’ dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19.

During the first wave, two-third of the workers did not receive the salaries on time and even woven and sweater factories struggled more in paying dues to workers, according to the study.

Besides, more than half of the RMG workers experienced reduction in overtime during the first wave compared to the pre-Covid period, said the study.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/safe-recruitment-for-migrant-workers-emphasised-again-1630467059

Safe recruitment for migrant workers emphasised again

 FE REPORT | Published:  September 01, 2021 09:30:59

Speakers at a virtual consultation called for ensuring a safe, orderly and quality recruitment system for migrant workers.

They also emphasised the necessity of skilled migration as well as sending workers with zero migration cost.

Bangladesh Civil Society for Migration (BCSM) and Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) jointly organised the national consultation, titled 'Fair and Ethical Recruitment', on Tuesday.

Dr C R Abrar, executive director of RMMRU, delivered a keynote presentation at the programme.

In his presentation, Dr Abrar pointed out some policy suggestions, for instance, promoting and incentivising ethical recruiters while blacklisting and penalising the irregular ones.

He recommended acknowledging the reality of middlemen both in source and destination countries and also bringing them under legal cover.

Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, lawmaker Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary called for framing a code of conduct for the recruitment.

He said that labour-receiving countries should acknowledge the contribution of migrants in building their economies and thus treat them with respect and dignity.

Giorgi Gigauri, Chief of Mission of IOM Bangladesh, said exploitation of migrants began at the recruitment stage.

Hence, ensuring ethical recruitment will go a long way in addressing their plights, he added.

Shahidul Alam, director-general of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), highlighted the social costs of migration and the need for developing appropriate policy and programme intervention so that distressed migrants could be provided with meaningful support.

He said recruitment agencies should be responsible for and proactive in maintaining a fair and ethical recruitment process.

Shahidul suggested creating awareness so that migrant workers get due support and dignity when they come back home.

Also present at the event were Nirvana Mujtaba of IOM Geneva, Alexis Bautista of MFA, migrants rights activists Shakirul Islam, Sumaiya Islam, and Asif Munier; and Ali Haider Chowdhury and Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman of BAIRA.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/rmg/jordan-destination-more-women-rmg-workers-297430#.YTJR_0iv0oY.facebook

Jasim Uddin & Kamran Siddiqui

03 September, 2021, 10:45 pm

Last modified: 03 September, 2021, 10:48 pm

Jordan destination for more women RMG workers

16 Jordanian cos are hiring RMG workers and 36 more want to recruit from Bangladesh

 

It is around 10am on Friday. The students who have arrived at the Sheikh Mujib Mohila Technical Training Centre for their exams have a nervous look on their faces. About 50 women from different districts have arrived here to prove their skills for jobs in Jordanian RMG factories.

Usually, workers are picked out of long queues in front of the factory gate in the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. But the case is different for these aspirants.

A Jordanian company is hiring about 400 women operators for its garment factory.

Stakeholders said 15 more companies are also hiring RMG workers for factories in Jordan.

They said workers of garment factories in Bangladesh are usually hired as helpers only on the basis of oral exams. But the recruiters from Jordan are appointing operators directly and candidates are being finalised by assessing their practical knowledge.

They said Jordanian apparel industry has recently leaned heavily towards appointing workers from Bangladesh as workers from other major sourcing countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal and India cannot fly to Jordan because of travel restrictions imposed by their governments amid the pandemic.

Upon entering the six-storey main building of the Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Mohila Technical Training Centre, it was seen that at least 15 workers were working with sewing machines in each of the four rooms on the ground floor to show their practical skills to qualify for the next stage of the recruitment process.

The Bangladesh-Korea Technical Training Centre and Bangladesh-German Technical Training Centre in the capital have also been busy taking workers' tests for the past three and a half months.

Sources said representatives of Jordanian apparel companies come to Dhaka every week to select skilled workers.

Another three dozen Jordanian companies have submitted demand letters this year to recruit female garment workers from Bangladesh.

Jordan's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA has made the country a favourable destination for apparel manufacturers from foreign countries – including Bangladesh – to set up production facilities there to avail of the duty-free privilege. Apparel exports from Bangladesh are subject to duties in the US market, unlike the EU that offers zero duty.

Jordan allows factories to hire 75% of the workforce from abroad, opening up a new horizon for Bangladeshi skilled apparel workers, mostly women, to work in the Middle Eastern country. Minimum wage in Jordan is three times as high as that offered by factories in Bangladesh. Besides, recruiters offer air tickets, food, accommodation, and healthcare facilities to workers.

Sparrow Group shows the way

Tusker Apparel Limited, Bangladeshi Sparrow Group's joint venture company, is looking for about 400 women operators, while the factory already has 1,600 Bangladeshi female workers.

"We have been able to confirm only 250 in the last three months. We have to select rest of the workers as soon as possible as we have booked orders for the next session," said Sparrow Group Managing Director Shovon Islam.

"Due to the lockdown, we faced problems in interviewing workers and getting visas for the selected workers," he added.

Shovon Islam said they are providing air tickets, accommodation, food and primary healthcare facilities to the workers.

"The total recruitment process has been done through state-owned recruiting agency Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL)," he added.

Velmuguran, a representative of Tusker Apparel Ltd, said workers' response has been low due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.

Like Tusker Apparel Limited, Classic Fashion Apparel Industry Limited Co, Aseel Universal Garments Manufacturing Co and Rainbow Textile representatives are also appointing workers through practical tests and interviews at three technical training centres in Dhaka under the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

A land of opportunities

Jordan's multitude of FTAs has made its economy one of the most open in the Middle East. The country has long been hailed as an island of stability in the midst of politically volatile Middle East.

According to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), Jordan has a FTA with the USA.

The United States and Jordan continue to benefit from an extensive economic partnership. A key element of this relationship is the United States-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that came into effect on 17 December 2001, and was implemented fully on 1 January 2010.

Besides, the Jordan government is also providing various facilities to foreign investors. As a result, investors from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are going to Jordan.

Shovon Islam said, "In 2010, my Indian partner and I were working for the same brand. At that time, we considered setting up a factory abroad where Bangladeshi workers would produce apparels. We searched for opportunities in Bahrain, Ethiopia and Jordan."

At first, they were very close to buying a factory in Bahrain. But there was a risk – the country's duty free market access would expire by 2014. Finally, they moved to Jordan considering its geographical location and strong trade relations with the US.

We would be able to use Israeli ports. Ships from those ports usually go to America faster than those from other ports. An Israeli port is only 40 kilometres away from Jordan's Al Dulayl Industrial Park and Real Estate where their factory is located, he added.

Shovan Islam said when they were planning to set up factories in Jordan, Classic Group, owned by an Hong Kong-based Indian,  had already established its factory in Jordan, which was run by Sri Lankan workers. "Now Classic Group has the highest number of Bangladeshi female workers among all garment factories in Jordan."

Tusker Apparel Ltd started operations with two production lines employing 450 workers. Later, it increased production lines to 16 and number of workers to 2,000. But, four lines were shuttered due to the pandemic.

The firm, however, has secured a good number of orders for high-value products, said Shovon, adding, "Last year, the volume of our exports was $80 million. Hopefully, the figure will reach the $100-million mark this year."

Lucrative salary, other benefits

Apparel factories in Jordan are in need of thousands of skilled workers. They are also offering handsome salaries.

According to BOESL's annual report, each female worker can earn at least Tk22,000 per month in the country while the income hovers around Tk8,000 to Tk8,420 in Bangladesh.

On top of that, Jordanian garments pay for the flight and other charges of a worker.

Apparel worker Sonia Akhter, who has been selected as an operator at Rainbow Textile in Jordan, said this will be her first round to the country as she has got her visa and air ticket confirmed by the employer.

Imran, packing manager of Aseel Universal Garments Manufacturing Co, said, "We are recruiting workers who at least know sewing operations. Besides, the recruitments include some educated individuals for official jobs."

Md Abdus Sobhan, company secretary at BOESL, said, "Around 36 Jordanian companies have submitted demand letters this year to recruit female garment workers. But, we are not getting enough workers."

He said the Classic Fashion Apparel Industry Ltd alone needs 20,000 workers in phases.

Classic Fashion is currently looking for 1,200 workers to hire in one go, Nurul Haque Shabuj, a representative of the apparel maker, told TBS.

In December last year, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told the media that Jordan would recruit 12,000 skilled Bangladeshi workers in one year for its readymade garment industry.

"We are looking for 250 workers from Bangladesh as per our factory's current manpower demand, but we have selected about 170 people in two and a half months", said Mohammad Imran, packing manager of Aseel Universal Garments Manufacturing Co based in Amman, Jordan.

"I arrived in Dhaka on 18 June this year and was hoping to complete the recruitment process within two to three weeks. But, the progress has been slow, due to a shortage of candidates."

Mentioning that generally, workers from Sri Lanka, Nepal and India go to Jordan to work at garment factories there, he said they are not able to fly to Jordan now as those countries have imposed restrictions on airline operations amid the pandemic.

As a result, entrepreneurs have leaned heavily towards Bangladeshi workers, he added.

Kamrul Hasan Saiful, production manager of Haifa Apparel, said they were looking for 60 workers and already confirmed 40.

According to BOESL, 9,307 Bangladeshi garment workers, including 9,199 women, went to Jordan in one year from July 2018 to June 2019.

Some 90 export-oriented garment factories in the middle-eastern country employ over 70,000 workers and 75% of them are women, said Better Work Jordan – an association working to improve working conditions and boost competitiveness of the garment industry – in 2020.

About 16,000 of the workers are Jordanians, while 53,000 others have migrated from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, China, Cambodia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Syria make up the rest.

Jordanian garment factories produce $2 billion worth of apparel items for international buyers a year, mostly from the US.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.daily-sun.com/post/575197/ECNEC-approves-Tk-4300cr-project-to-groom-youthfolk-as-workforce

ECNEC approves Tk 4,300cr project to groom youth-folk as workforce

BSS

7th September, 2021 05:12:46 PM

The government approved a Taka 4,300 crore project to groom the country's youth folk, women and disadvantageous section of people suitable for getting employed and thus build themselves as demand-based workforce of the country.

The approval came from a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) held today with its Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

The Premier joined the meeting virtually from her official Ganobhaban residence while Ministers, State Ministers, Planning Commission Members and Secretaries concerned attended the meeting from the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.

 Briefing reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said a total of eight projects were approved today involving an overall estimated cost of Taka 7,589.72 crore.

"Of the total project cost, Taka 5,009.72 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion while the rest of Taka 2,580 crore as project assistance," he added.

Of the approved eight projects, six are new while two others are revised projects.

State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, Planning Commission members and Secretaries concerned attended the briefing.

The Department of Technical Education under the Technical and Madrasah Education Division will implement the "Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET)" project with around Taka 4,300 crore by December 2026, the Planning Minister said.

Of the total project cost, around Taka 1,720 crore will come from the government of Bangladesh portion while the rest of around Taka 2,580 crore as project assistance from the World Bank.

Mannan said there is a lack of skills among the workforce in the country and to overcome that the government had implemented various projects.

Dr Shamsul Alam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has termed this project as very time befitting in order to properly utilize the demographic dividend of the country.

The ASSET project will equip more than one million youth and workers with skills needed for the jobs of the future. The project will help youth, women and disadvantaged groups, including people with disabilities, learn skills and connect them to the labor market. The project will also help accelerate recovery from the pandemic by supporting industries to retrain their workers.

The main project operations include construction of non residential building, 15 acres of land acquisition, imparting necessary training, holding seminars, conferences, procuring ICT and computer equipments, providing support to technical and stipend education and thus creating awareness on the pandemic.

Planning Commission officials said the project will help modernize and build resilience of the technical vocational education and training sector in Bangladesh.

The project will benefit further the informal sector workers through expanding the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme, the official added.

The day's ECNEC meeting also approved a Taka 1,142.27 crore project to construct some 3,040 residential flats for the cleaning workers of 66 Pourasabhas of the country.

Dr Shamsul Alam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had earlier directed to ensure accommodation facilities for the cleaning workers.

Answering to a question, Planning Commission member Mamun-Al-Rashid said the government is committed to ensure civic facilities to the cleaning workers.

He said although the Premier was initially fully against realizing rent from the cleaning workers, but following a request from the LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam to realize minimum rent for the maintenance of the flats, the Prime Minister agreed.

But, it was also the expectation of the Prime Minister that not so much amount will be collected from the cleaning workers, Mamun added.

The Planning Minister said that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed again that the industrial and household wastes are treated properly before entering rivers.

In this regard, the premier asked the authorities concerned especially the industrial owners for ensuring to set up CETPs and ETPs for treating wastes and averting pollution.

She also suggested for installing goods scanner and body scanner machines at the Hilly, Burimari and Banglabandha LC stations.

Dr Alam said the Prime Minister stressed the need for taking necessary measures so that the rivers in the entire city Corporation areas are not polluted side by side suggested for building a circular alleviated walkway around the capital in future.

 Apart from stressing again on dredging of rivers, Dr Alam said the Premiermentioned that shrimp farmers often cut embankments in Gabura and Shyamnagar areas in the coastal areas to bring water.

Under the circumstances, the Prime Minister suggested for devising the drainage system of water there in such way so that water could be drained in and thus drained out as per the requirements, Alam added.  

The other projects approved in the meeting are Construction of physical infrastructures at Hily, Burimari and Banglabandha LC Stations with Taka 80.61 crore, Erection of pillars along the bank of Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakhya and Balu Rivers, protection of embankments and construction of walkway, jetty and ancillary infrastructures, second phase (first revised) with an additional cost of Taka 332.55 crore, Construction of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo theatre, Rangpur with Taka 417.65 crore, Strengthening capacity of regional lentil research center in Madaripur and boosting production of lentil production at greater Barishal and Faridpur regions with Taka 168 crore, Development of reclaimed land from the River Jamuna in Sirajganj and thus protecting proposed economic zone (first revised) with an additional cost of Taka 128.22 crore and Rehabilitation of Polder No 15 of Satkhira district with Taka 1020.43 crore.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/kuwait-can-recruit-more-health-staff-from-bangladesh-says-shahriar-alam-1654608511

Kuwait can recruit more health staff from Bangladesh, says Shahriar Alam

 

Published:  June 07, 2022 19:28:31

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam has said Kuwait can recruit more medical professionals including nurses, and medical technicians from Bangladesh.

He discussed the issue when the outgoing Ambassador of Kuwait to Bangladesh Adel Mohammed AH Hayat met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The ambassador said Bangladesh has achieved tremendous development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, reports UNB.

The envoy thanked the state minister for his support during his tenure in Bangladesh.

Shahriar Alam appreciated the ambassador for his sincere efforts for strengthening bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and Kuwait in manpower, trade, defense, energy, and development projects.

The ambassador highlighted that Bangladesh and Kuwait enjoy excellent relations in a bilateral and multilateral forum.

He expressed that in the coming days the relationship will be strengthened for the mutual benefit of Bangladesh and Kuwait.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.prothomalo.com/chakri/employment/বাংলাদেশি-পোশাককর্মী-নেবে-জর্ডান-সাক্ষাৎকার-সরাসরি

বাংলাদেশি পোশাককর্মী নেবে জর্ডান, সাক্ষাৎকার সরাসরি

চাকরি-বাকরি প্রতিবেদক

প্রকাশ: ০৮ জুন ২০২২, ০৮: ১৫

বাংলাদেশ ওভারসিজ এমপ্লয়মেন্ট অ্যান্ড সার্ভিসেস লিমিটেডের (বোয়েসেল) মাধ্যমে জর্ডানের একটি টেক্সটাইল কোম্পানিতে সরাসরি সাক্ষাৎকারের মাধ্যমে পোশাককর্মী নিয়োগের বিজ্ঞপ্তি প্রকাশ করা হয়েছে।

বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে বলা হয়েছে, বোয়েসেলের মাধ্যমে জর্ডানের রেইনবো টেক্সটাইল এল.এল.সি কোম্পানিতে মেশিন অপারেটর পদে ৫০ জন নারী কর্মী নেওয়া হবে। প্রার্থীদের সংশ্লিষ্ট কাজের অভিজ্ঞতা এবং বয়স ১৮-৩৯ বছরের মধ্যে হতে হবে। মাসিক মূল বেতন ১২৫ জেডি (১৬ হাজার ২৪২ টাকা)।  

চাকরির শর্ত
দিনে ৮ ঘণ্টা ডিউটি, সপ্তাহে ৬ দিন এবং ওভারটইম (স্বেচ্ছাধীন)। চাকরির চুক্তি তিন বছর। নিয়োগকারী প্রতিষ্ঠান থাকা, খাওয়া ও প্রাথমিক চিকিৎসা এবং পরিবহনের ব্যবস্থা করবে। চাকরিতে যোগদানের বিমান ভাড়া এবং তিন বছর চাকরি শেষে দেশে ফেরত আসার বিমান ভাড়া নিয়োগকারী প্রতিষ্ঠান দেবে। চুক্তি শেষ হওয়ার আগে দেশে ফিরে আসতে চাইলে জর্ডানের শ্রম আইন প্রযোজ্য হবে। যাঁদের বিরুদ্ধে দেশে বা জর্ডানে মামলা আছে, তাঁরা নিয়োগের অযোগ্য হবেন।

বোয়েসেলের সার্ভিস চার্জ ও অন্যান্য খরচ
নির্বাচিত কর্মীদের বোয়েসেলের সার্ভিস চার্জ, বহির্গমন ট্যাক্স, ১৫% ভ্যাট, বোয়েসেলের নিবন্ধন ফি, স্মার্টকার্ড ফি এবং ওয়েজ আর্নার্স কল্যাণ ফি বাবদ সব খরচ কোম্পানি দেবে। তবে মেডিকেল ফি ১০০০ টাকা ও ফিঙ্গার প্রিন্টের ফি ২০০ টাকা নির্বাচিত কর্মীদের দিতে হবে।

সাক্ষাৎকারে সময় যা আনতে হবে
রঙিন ছবি চার কপি (পাসপোর্ট সাইজ), মূল পাসপোর্ট, পাসপোর্টের ফটোকপি (৫টি রঙিন), শিক্ষাগত অভিজ্ঞতার সনদ (যদি থাকে)।

সাক্ষাৎকারের তারিখ ও সময়
আগ্রহী প্রার্থীদের উল্লিখিত কাগজপত্রসহ আগামী ১০ জুন, সকাল আটটায় শেখ ফজিলাতুন্নেছা মুজিব মহিলা কারিগরি প্রশিক্ষণকেন্দ্র, দারুস-সালাম রোড, মিরপুর, ঢাকায় উপস্থিত থাকতে হবে। এ–সংক্রান্ত যেকোনো তথ্যের জন্য ০২৯৩৩৬৫০৮, ০২৪৮৩১৯১৫ ও ০২৪৮৩১৫১৫ টেলিফোন নম্বরে যোগাযোগ করা যাবে। নিয়োগসংক্রান্ত বিস্তারিত তথ্য এই লিংকে জানা যাবে।

[Joel Ahmed]

https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/metro-news/japan-turns-a-potential-job-mkt-for-bd-1655483628

Japan turns a potential job mkt for BD

 ARAFAT ARA |  June 18, 2022 00:00:00

Japan has emerged as a potential market for Bangladeshi workers as it can help increase employment opportunity and quality migration.

Officials at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) say they are giving priority to tap this opportunity through sending more workers to this attractive job destination country.

Bangladesh has a target to send at least 3,000 workers to Japan for different sectors next year, says BMET director (training operations) engineer Md Salah Uddin.

Currently, foreign workers are in good demand in the East Asian nation that is willing to hire workers from Bangladesh.

Dhaka is keenly working to tap the potential properly, according to the official.

In 2017, expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry of Bangladesh and International Manpower Development Organisation of Japan (IM Japan) signed an instrument for training technical interns of Bangladesh in Japan.

On the other hand, Dhaka and Tokyo signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on the recruitment of specified skilled workers (SSWs) in August 2019.

Bangladesh has been enlisted as the ninth source country for sending skilled workers to Japan following the signing of the MoC.

Japan, as the world's third-largest economy, will need some 345,000 foreign workers by 2025.

In line with the signing of the MoC in 2019, officials say, Japan will hire manpower from Bangladesh in 14 sectors and industries under two categories.

The act of sending technical interns has remained almost halted following the outbreak of Covid-19. Now it is gathering pace gradually, they add.

Under the deal with IM Japan, 178 Bangladeshi youths have so far gone to Japan as technical interns. They were employed in construction and care-giving sectors. A total of 53 workers are expected to fly to the country in July, and 345 others are in the pipeline.

Under the deal, Japan is hiring the interns in its construction, construction, automobile and care-giving sectors.

Employers are bearing the cost of migration for technical interns who earn 160,000-190,000 Japanese yen as monthly wages.

Besides, the government has started correspondence with the Japanese authorities concerned to send skilled workers under the MoC on the recruitment of SSWs.

A total of 32 technical training centres (TTCs) are entitled to run Japanese language course.

"We've already sent a letter to the TTCs to start skills training in 14 trades required for Japan-bound workers," cites Mr Salah Uddin.

They have requested the Japanese authorities to permit skills assessment test in Bangladesh, he says, adding that if permitted, they will be able to start sending SSWs soon.

"We'll be able to send 3,000 technical interns and SSWs to Japan in the next one year," he anticipates.

When asked, the official says the employer country will hire 1,000 interns each year.

Fourteen sectors and industries include caregiving, building cleaning management, machinery parts and tooling, industrial machinery, electrical, electronics and information, construction, shipbuilding, automobile maintenance, aviation, accommodation, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and food and beverage.

Proficiency test on Japanese language and necessary skills on respective trade are the basic requirements for selection of an SSW for Japan.

Shakirul Islam, chairman at Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), suggests that the government emphasise sending workers there as Japan is a developed job market for migrant workers.

Such migration will help ensure standard occupation for skilled workers and enhance remittance income at homeland, he comments.

 

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangla/বাংলাদেশ/news-details-100382

কামরান সিদ্দিকী & জসীম উদ্দীন

02 July, 2022, 11:55 pm

Last modified: 02 July, 2022, 11:54 pm

বাংলাদেশ থেকে পোশাক কর্মী নিচ্ছে বুলগেরিয়া

বর্তমানে দেশের বাইরে শুধু জর্ডানে বাংলাদেশি দক্ষ নারী আরএমজি কর্মীরা কর্মরত আছেন। তারা মাসিক ২২ হাজার টাকা বেতন পান।

 

ভালো বেতনের প্রতিশ্রুতি দিয়ে বাংলাদেশ থেকে দক্ষ জনশক্তি নিয়োগ করছে দক্ষিণ-পূর্ব ইউরোপের দেশ বুলগেরিয়া।

এখন পর্যন্ত ইউরোপের বাজার বাংলাদেশের তৈরি পোশাক (আরএমজি) পণ্যের শীর্ষ রপ্তানি গন্তব্যগুলোর একটি।

তবে এই প্রথম ইউরোপের কোনো দেশে পেশাগত যাত্রা শুরু করছেন বাংলাদেশের আরএমজি কর্মীরা।

এই পদক্ষেপ ইঙ্গিত দিচ্ছে, ইউরোপ ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের বড় ব্র্যান্ড ও ক্রেতারা নিয়ারশোরিং ও অটোমেশনের দিকে মনোযোগ দিচ্ছে।

বৈশ্বিক পরামর্শদাতা প্রতিষ্ঠান ম্যাককিনসে অ্যান্ড কোম্পানির সাম্প্রতিক প্রতিবেদন অনুসারে, বৈশ্বিক পোশাক ব্র্যান্ড ও খুচরা বিক্রেতাদের টিকে থাকতে হলে এশীয় দেশগুলো থেকে আরএমজি আমদানি কমাতে হবে।

বাংলাদেশ গার্মেন্টস ম্যানুফ্যাকচারার্স অ্যান্ড এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশনের (বিজিএমইএ) সভাপতি ফারুক হাসান বলেন, 'এই প্রথম ইউরোপের কোনো দেশ বাংলাদেশ থেকে আরএমজি কর্মী নিয়োগের জন্য আনুষ্ঠানিক পদক্ষেপ নিল।'

অধিকাংশ ক্রেতাই লিড টাইম—উৎপাদন প্রক্রিয়া শুরু ও সম্পন্ন করতে মোট যে সময় লাগে—কমানোর জন্য নিয়ার-শোর থেকে পণ্য সোর্স করতে চায়; তাই বুলগেরিয়ার প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলো এ উদ্যোগ নিয়েছে।

ফারুক হাসান আরও বলেন, 'আমরা মনে করি প্রত্যেকেরই উন্নত জীবন বেছে নেওয়ার অধিকার আছে। বুলগেরিয়ান কারখানার কাজের প্রস্তাব শ্রমিকদের ভালো জীবনযাপনে সহায়ক হবে। একইসাথে আমরা দক্ষ জনশক্তি তৈরির জন্য আরও বেশিসংখ্যক লোককে প্রশিক্ষণ দিচ্ছি।'

অবশ্য ইংল্যান্ডের কিছু পোশাক কারখানায় অল্পসংখ্যক বাংলাদেশি কাজ করছে বলে জানান তিনি।

প্রাথমিকভাবে দুটি বুলগেরিয়ান কোম্পানি—আঁতোয়া ভিল ও মিজিয়া-৯৬এডি—প্রতি মাসে ৪৬০ ডলার (৪৫,০০০ টাকা)) বেতনে ১০০ জন কর্মী নিয়োগ করছে।

বাংলাদেশ ওভারসিজ এমপ্লয়মেন্ট অ্যান্ড সার্ভিসেস লিমিটেডের (বোয়েসল) তত্ত্বাবধানে ইতিমধ্যে নিয়োগ প্রক্রিয়া শুরু হয়েছে।

বোয়েসল সূত্রে জানা গেছে, এই কোম্পানিগুলো দক্ষ কর্মী, বিশেষ করে সুইং মেশিন অপারেটর, প্রেসিং মেশিন অপারেটর ও টেক্সটাইল টেইলার্স খুঁজছে।

বাংলাদেশে একজন পোশাক শ্রমিকের মাসিক আয় ৮ হাজার টাকা থেকে ৮ হাজার ৪২০ টাকার মধ্যে ওঠানামা করে। বুলগেরিয়ায় যারা নিয়োগ পাবেন, তারা দেশের চেয়ে পাঁচগুণ বেশি আয় করবেন।

চাকরির শর্তাবলি অনুযায়ী, চুক্তির মেয়াদ হবে সর্বোচ্চ তিন বছর এবং প্রতিবার নবায়নযোগ্য। মাসিক বেতন ছাড়াও বিমান ভাড়া, খাওয়া বাবদ মাসিক ৫০ ডলার এবং থাকা বাবদ ৩-৪ জনের আলাদা কক্ষ কোম্পানি থেকে দেওয়া হবে। 

তবে বিদ্যুৎ ও পানির বিল কর্মীকে বহন করতে হবে। কর্মাবস্থায় দুর্ঘটনাজনিত ক্ষতিপূরণ এবং অন্যান্য বিষয়াদি বুলগেরিয়ার শ্রম আইন অনুযায়ী প্রযোজ্য হবে। 

২০ থেকে ৩৫ বছর বয়সি পুরুষ ও নারী উভয় প্রার্থীই নিয়োগের জন্য আবেদন করতে পারবেন।

বোয়েসলের ৪২ হাজার টাকা সার্ভিস চার্জসহ মোট অভিবাসন খরচ ৫২ হাজার ৭৪০ টাকা।

স্টেকহোল্ডারদের মতে, রাষ্ট্রীয় মালিকানাধীন শ্রম রপ্তানিকারক প্রতিষ্ঠান বোয়েসলও বেসরকারি নিয়োগকারীদের মতোই অভিবাসনের জন্য মাত্রাতিরিক্ত চার্জ নিচ্ছে।

বোয়েসলের জেনারেল ম্যানেজার (ওভারসিজ এমপ্লয়মেন্ট) বনানী বিশ্বাস টিবিএসকে বলেন, 'আপাতত ১০০ লোকের চাহিদা দিলেও পরবর্তীতে আরো লোক নেয়া হবে বলে আমরা আশা করছি। হ্যান্ডসাম স্যালারি হওয়ায় আমরা শ্রমবাজারটিকে গুরুত্ব দিচ্ছি।

'এর আগে ইউরোপে আমাদের কোনো স্কিলড গার্মেন্ট ওয়ার্কার যায়নি। জর্ডানের পরে বোয়েসেল-এর মাধ্যমে বুলগেরিয়াতেই প্রথম গার্মেন্টস কর্মীরা যাচ্ছে।' 

উচ্চ অভিবাসন ব্যয়ের বিষয়ে তিনি বলেন, 'অভিবাসন ব্যয় নির্ধারণ করে বোয়েসেল বোর্ড। যদি এটা বেশি হয়ে থাকে, আমরা বোর্ডে বিষয়টি আবার তুলব যাতে পুনরায় বিবেচনা করা যায়।'

নিয়োগের শর্তানুযায়ী, একজন কর্মীকে দৈনিক ৮ ঘণ্টা কাজ করতে হবে। ওভারটাইমের পারিশ্রমিকও কোম্পানির নীতিমালা অনুযায়ী দেওয়া হবে।

বোয়েসল প্রতি শুক্রবার বাংলাদেশ-কোরিয়া টেকনিক্যাল ট্রেনিং সেন্টারে আগ্রহী প্রার্থীদের ব্যবহারিক পরীক্ষা নিচ্ছে। বোয়েসেলের বাছাইকৃতদের মধ্য থেকে বুলগেরিয়ার কোম্পানি প্রতিনিধিরা এসে পুনরার পরীক্ষার মাধ্যমে চূড়ান্ত প্রার্থী বাছাই করবেন।

দীর্ঘদিন ধরেই পূর্ব ইউরোপের ফ্যাশনের কেন্দ্র বুলগেরিয়া। বুলগেরিয়ান ফ্যাশন ম্যানুফ্যাকচারিংকে প্রায়ই তাদের প্রতিবেশী তুরস্কের উচ্চ মানের সঙ্গে তুলনা করা হয়।

প্রজন্মের পর প্রজন্ম ধরে পারিবারিকভাবে বুলগেরিয়ান ফ্যাশন ম্যানুফ্যাকচারাররা কাজ করছে। এই ঐতিহ্যের সঙ্গে নতুন সেলাই প্রযুক্তি যুক্ত হওয়ায় বুলগেরিয়া হয়ে উঠেছে পোশাক ও টেক্সটাইল সোর্সিংয়ের হটস্পট।

গার্মেন্টস ও টেক্সটাইল উৎপাদন আজও বুলগেরিয়ার অন্যতম প্রধান শিল্প। হাজার হাজার মানুষের কর্মসংস্থান করছে এই খাত।

ইউরোপে বুলগেরিয়ার উৎপাদন খরচই সবচেয়ে কম। এছাড়া ইউরোপীয় ইউনিয়নের সদস্যপদ থাকায় সমস্ত নৈতিক ও পরিবেশগত মানদণ্ডও নিশ্চিত করে দেশটি।

২০১৮ সালে বুলগেরিয়ার ফ্যাশন সেগমেন্টের আয় ছিল আনুমানিক ৩২৪ মিলিয়ন ডলার।

পোশাক সোর্সিং ও প্রোডাক্ট ডেভেলপমেন্ট সাইট স্কেচ-এর তথ্যানুসারে, পোশাক ও টেক্সটাইল শিল্প বুলগেরিয়ায় প্রায় ১ লাখ ৫০ হাজার মানুষের কর্মসংস্থান তৈরি করেছে।

২০২০-২১ অর্থবছরে বাংলাদেশ বুলগেরিয়ায় ১.৭৯ মিলিয়ন ডলারের পোশাক রপ্তানি করেছে, আর ২০১৯-২০ অর্থবছরে আরএমজি শিপমেন্ট ছিল ২.২৭ মিলিয়ন ডলার।

নিয়োগকারী সংস্থাগুলোর মধ্যে আঁতোয়া ভিল ১৯৮৮ সাল থেকে উচ্চ মানের মহিলাদের পোশাক উৎপাদন করছে।

বোয়েসলের তথ্যমতে, প্রতিষ্ঠানটি নানা স্টাইলের পোশাক তৈরি করে—জামা, ব্লাউজ, টপস, জ্যাকেট, ট্রাউজার, স্কার্ট ইত্যাদি। জার্মানি, বেলজিয়াম, সুইডেন, গ্রেট ব্রিটেন ও অন্যান্য ইইউভুক্ত দেশের গ্রাহকদের দ্বারা স্বীকৃত বেশ কয়েকটি আন্তর্জাতিক ফ্যাশন ব্র্যান্ডের সঙ্গে দীর্ঘদিনের অংশীদারত্ব আছে কোম্পানিটির। 

বর্তমানে জর্ডানেও বাংলাদেশি দক্ষ নারী আরএমজি কর্মীরা কর্মরত আছেন। তারা মাসিক ২২ হাজার টাকা বেতন পান।

এছাড়া কয়েকজন বাংলাদেশি ইতালির আরএমজি কারখানায়ও কাজ করছেন বলে প্রবাসী কল্যাণ ও বৈদেশিক কর্মসংস্থান মন্ত্রণালয় সূত্রে জানা গেছে।

রিফিউজি অ্যান্ড মাইগ্রেটরি মুভমেন্টস রিসার্চ ইউনিটের (আরএমএমআরইউ) প্রতিষ্ঠাতা চেয়ারম্যান তাসনিম সিদ্দিকি বলেন, 'বাংলাদেশে তৈরি পোশাক খাতে প্রচুর শ্রমিক আছে। তারা যথেষ্ট দক্ষ। আমরা এই জনশক্তি বিদেশে রপ্তানির উদ্যোগ নিতে পারি। ইউরোপের বাজার পোশাক জনশক্তি রপ্তানির আদর্শ গন্তব্য হতে পারে।'

'তবে এই সংখ্যাটা যাতে লিমিটেড না হয়ে ক্রমাগত বাড়ে, সেদিকে বোয়েসেলকে নজর দিতে হবে। বছরে যদি অন্তত ১০ হাজার লোক আমরা ইউরোপের মার্কেটে পাঠাতে পারি, তাহলে এটা রেমিট্যান্সের ক্ষেত্রে বিশাল প্রভাব ফেলবে,' যোগ করেন তিনি।

এশিয়া থেকে আরএমজি আমদানি কমাবে ইউরোপ, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র

২০২৫ সালের মধ্যে ইউরোপ ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের প্রধান ব্র্যান্ড এবং ক্রেতারা চীন, বাংলাদেশ ও ভিয়েতনামের মতো দেশগুলো থেকে তাদের তৈরি পোশাকের আমদানি কমিয়ে দিতে পারে। বৈশ্বিক পরামর্শদাতা সংস্থা ম্যাককিনসে অ্যান্ড কোম্পানির 'ইজ অ্যাপারেল ম্যানুফ্যাকচারিং কামিং হোম?' শিরোনামের প্রতিবেদনে এ ইঙ্গিত দেওয়া হয়।

ব্যবসায়িক প্রকাশনা 'সোর্সিং জার্নাল'-এর সঙ্গে যৌথভাবে ১৮০টি ব্র্যান্ড, ক্রেতা ও নির্বাহীদের ওপর একটি সমীক্ষার পর প্রতিবেদনটি তৈরি করা হয়।

প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়, আগামীতে সফল পোশাক কোম্পানি তারাই হবে যারা দুটি ফ্রন্টে—নিয়ারশোরিং ও অটোমেশন—পোশাকের ভ্যালু চেইন বাড়ানোতে নেতৃত্ব দেবে।

দুটি ফ্রন্টেই টেকসই উপায়ে ভ্যালু চেইন বাড়াতে হবে। ইউরোপ ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে পোশাকের ব্র্যান্ড এবং খুচরা বিক্রেতারা আর আগের মতো ব্যবসা করতে পারছে না বলে প্রতিবেদনে উল্লেখ করা হয়। সেখানে বিক্রেতা ও ব্র্যান্ডগুলো ব্যবসা বাড়ানোর পথ খুঁজছে।

এই দেশগুলোতে মজুরি বৃদ্ধির ফলে উৎপাদন খরচ বেড়ে যাওয়ায় বিদেশি ব্র্যান্ডগুলো এমন পরিকল্পনা করেছে।

ইউরোপ ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ব্র্যান্ড এবং ক্রেতারা চীন, বাংলাদেশ ও ভিয়েতনামের পরিবর্তে মেক্সিকো ও তুরস্কের মতো কাছাকাছি দেশ থেকে পোশাক তৈরি করতে চাইছে।

তারা মনে করছে, এতে কম সময়ে পোশাক হাতে পাবে। সময়ের সঙ্গে সঙ্গে ফ্যাশনের ধারা বদলে যাওয়ায় ক্রেতারা এখন কম সময়ে ও কম খরচে পোশাক চায় বলে প্রতিবেদনে উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে।

প্রতিবেদনে আরও বলা হয়, বাংলাদেশ থেকে জার্মানিতে পণ্য পাঠাতে সময় লাগে ৩০ দিন, যেখানে তুরস্ক থেকে জার্মানিতে পণ্য পাঠাতে সময় লাগে মাত্র ৩ থেকে ৬ দিন।

রপ্তানি উন্নয়ন ব্যুরোর (ইপিবি) প্রকাশিত তথ্য অনুযায়ী, ২০২১-২২ অর্থবছরের জুলাই-মে মাসে তৈরি পোশাকের চালান আগের বছরের একই সময়ের তুলনায় প্রায় ৩৫ শতাংশ বেড়েছে। এ সময়ে রপ্তানি হয়েছে ৩৮.৫২ বিলিয়ন ডলারের পোশাক।

এই সময়ে ইইউতে বাংলাদেশের রপ্তানি ছিল প্রায় ১৯.৩ বিলিয়ন ডলার, যা মোট পোশাক রপ্তানির ৫০.১১ শতাংশ। আর যুক্তরাজ্য ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে বাংলাদেশের মোট পোশাকের ১০.৬৩ শতাংশ ও ২১.১৫ শতাংশ রপ্তানি হয়।

ইউরোপীয় ইউনিয়নের শীর্ষ ৭ রপ্তানি গন্তব্য হলো—জার্মানি (৬.৫ বিলিয়ন ডলার), স্পেন (২.৭২ বিলিয়ন ডলার), ফ্রান্স (২.১৫ বিলিয়ন ডলার), পোল্যান্ড (১.৮২ বিলিয়ন ডলার), ইতালি (১.৪২ বিলিয়ন ডলার), নেদারল্যান্ডস (১.৩২ বিলিয়ন ডলার) এবং ডেনমার্ক (১.০৩ বিলিয়ন ডলার)।

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/migration/bangladesh-exceeds-labour-exports-target-fy22-452962

Kamran Siddiqui

04 July, 2022, 10:35 pm

Last modified: 04 July, 2022, 11:03 pm

Bangladesh exceeds labour exports target in FY22

The country hopes to send 1 million workers in the current fiscal

 

Bangladesh has surpassed its manpower export target for the 2021-22 fiscal year as countries across the globe lifted pandemic restrictions and reopened businesses. 

Around 9.88 lakh workers secured overseas employment in the immediate past fiscal, which is a whopping 253% growth compared to the previous fiscal year, according to data provided by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment.

The remittance inflow, however, declined 15% in FY22 compared to FY21, when expatriates had sent home the highest amount in the country's history amid the pandemic.

According to experts, quality labour migration is yet to be ensured as the majority of the outgoing workers are deemed unskilled or low-skilled. Skilled workers will be able to bring in more remittances.  

Sector insiders have linked the rebound of overseas employment to brighter Gulf economies buoyed by rising fuel oil prices, normalisation of the pandemic situation, and easing of restrictions.

Besides, increasing the quota for Bangladeshi migrants' in all Saudi firms to 40% from 25% has contributed to this record growth as the kingdom employed 66% of the total exported workers in the last fiscal, they said. 

"Our target was set at 8 lakh but we were able to exceed that limit and sent nearly 10 lakh people," Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed told The Business Standard (TBS) on Monday.

"The demand for workers in foreign countries has surged as they opened up factories in the post-pandemic period," he said.

The minister hoped that more workers would be able to go abroad in the current financial year as Malaysia reopened the closed labour market.

"We see Malaysia as a bonus. After a long three-year hiatus, we planned to send workers there from June, but it was not possible for various reasons. However, the process will start very soon," he added.

The ministry hopes to send 1 million workers this year.

Meanwhile, the country started sending health workers like nurses to Kuwait last month with more than Tk1 lakh monthly salaries. 

Around 100 nurses have reached Kuwait as part of a deal to send 1,000 health staff in the preliminary stage.         

Foreign jobs that had come to a complete halt in 2020 owing to pandemic-led restrictions started turning around in August 2021. The upward trend has been continuing since then, taking the labour migration to a near pre-pandemic level. 

With Covid restrictions in effect, overseas employment declined to 2.80 lakh in FY21, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). 

Before the pandemic, on average 6-7 lakh Bangladeshi workers used to be abroad, mostly to the Middle Eastern countries, each year.

Migration expert Asif Munier said the aspirant migrants, who were stranded in FY21 due to the pandemic, managed to reach various destinations as the restrictions were lifted in the last fiscal.     

Saudi Arabia is the top destination for Bangladeshi migrants, followed by Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Jordan and Qatar. 

Abul Bashar, former president of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), said, "None was able to visit Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and Umrah for the last two years. This time Saudi is accepting hajj pilgrims, which has increased the demand for new staff in hotels and restaurants."

"Mainly cleaners, domestic workers and hospitality workers are going to the kingdom with relatively low salaries," he said.

In addition, some were hired as security guards, drivers and construction workers in the UAE with a monthly salary of Tk35,000-Tk40,000, Bashar said. 

Besides, some skilled and semi-skilled workers made their entry into different countries like Oman as plumbers, electricians or technicians of refrigerators and air conditioners, the former Baira president added.   

Around 74% of the labourers who migrated in 2021 are unskilled ones, according to the Refugee and Migratory Movement Research Unit (RMMRU).

"On the one hand, we are sending mostly unskilled workers, and on the other hand, a large number of them are falling victims to fraud and returning home which is failed migration," said Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, founding chair of RMMRU, to TBS.

"Sending people through a syndicate of 25 Malaysian agencies could also lead to a failed migration," she added.

Regarding the declining remittance inflow, she said, "The amount of remittances in a particular time frame does not usually depend on the workers that went abroad in the corresponding period. The amount depends mainly on the stock migrants."

"The number of exported workers dropped drastically in FY21. So remittances declined slightly in the following year. However, the impact of the last fiscal's surge in labour export can be observed in the coming months," she added.

Around 1.3 crore Bangladeshis have been employed abroad between 1976 and 2021, according to government data. The highest 10 lakh Bangladeshis were employed in 2017. 

In fiscal 2021-22, expatriates sent $21.03 billion through official channels which was $24.77 billion in the previous fiscal year, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://bangla.dhakatribune.com/others/2022/08/14/1660457759212

দক্ষিণ কোরিয়া নেবে ২০০ বাংলাদেশি কর্মী

আগ্রহী প্রার্থীদের ২০ আগস্টের মধ্যে গুগল ডকস ফরমে আবেদন করতে হবে  

 

ট্রিবিউন ডেস্ক

প্রকাশিত: ১০:১৫ দুপুর আগস্ট ১৪, ২০২২

বাংলাদেশ ওভারসিজ ইমপ্লয়মেন্ট অ্যান্ড সার্ভিসেস লিমিটেডের (বোয়েসেল) মাধ্যমে দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ার বিভিন্ন প্রদেশে কৃষি ও মৎস্য খাতে মৌসুমি শ্রমিক হিসেবে ২০০ জন বাংলাদেশি শ্রমিক নেওয়া হবে। আগ্রহী প্রার্থীদের ২০ আগস্টের মধ্যে গুগল ডকস ফরমে আবেদন করতে হবে। তথ্য প্রাপ্তি সাপেক্ষে প্রয়োজনে প্রার্থীর সাক্ষাৎকার গ্রহণ করা হবে।

বোয়েসেলের বিজ্ঞপ্তিতে জানানো হয়েছে, দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ার বিভিন্ন প্রদেশে কৃষি ও মৎস্য খাতে মৌসুমি শ্রমিক হিসেবে ২০০ জন বাংলাদেশি শ্রমিক নেওয়া হবে। চাকরির মেয়াদ সর্বোচ্চ পাঁচ মাস। দৈনিক আট ঘণ্টা ডিউটি। সাপ্তাহিক ছুটি এক দিন। মাসিক বেতন প্রায় ১ লাখ ২০ টাকা।

চাকরির শর্ত

ভিসার ধরন—ই–৮। সুঠাম দেহের অধিকারী ও কঠোর পরিশ্রমী হতে হবে। বয়স ৩০ থেকে ৪৫ বছরের মধ্যে হতে হবে। চাকমা, মারমা, গারো, সাঁওতাল ও অন্যান্য ক্ষুদ্র জাতিগোষ্ঠীর প্রার্থীরা অগ্রাধিকার পাবেন। এ ক্ষেত্রে জেলা প্রশাসক কর্তৃক ক্ষুদ্র জাতিগোষ্ঠীর সনদ দাখিল করতে হবে। উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা কর্তৃক সংশ্লিষ্ট কাজের অভিজ্ঞতার সনদ দাখিল করতে হবে।

নিয়োগকর্তার চাহিদা মোতাবেক ওভার টাইমের সুযোগ আছে। কৃষি ও মৎস্য চাষে দুই বছরের বাস্তব অভিজ্ঞতা থাকতে হবে। পুরুষ ও নারী উভয়ে আবেদন করতে পারবেন (গর্ভবতী নারী আবেদন করতে পারবেন না)। মাদকাসক্ত ব্যক্তিরা অযোগ্য বলে বিবেচিত হবেন।

যার নামে ইতিপূর্বে রাষ্ট্রীয় নির্দেশে কারা অন্তরীণ বা কঠোর শাস্তি হয়নি। যার ওপর বিদেশযাত্রার বিষয়ে কোনো নিষেধাজ্ঞা নেই বা যেতে কোনো সমস্যা নেই। পাসপোর্টের মেয়াদ ন্যূনতম এক বছর থাকতে হবে।

নিয়োগকর্তার চাহিদা মোতাবেক কর্মকাল সম্পন্ন করলে পরবর্তী ধাপে চাকরিতে অগ্রাধিকার পাবেন। দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় যাওয়া-আসার বিমানভাড়া কর্মীর বহন করতে হবে। কোভিড-১৯ অতিমারির কারণে দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় গমনের আগে নিজ ব্যয়ে সাত দিনের সঙ্গনিরোধ করতে হবে।

অন্যান্য সুযোগ–সুবিধা কোরিয়ার শ্রম আইন অনুযায়ী প্রযোজ্য। বিজ্ঞাপন/কর্মী নির্বাচন দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় চাকরির নিশ্চয়তা বহন করে না। নির্ধারিত সময় শেষে কর্মীকে বাংলাদেশে ফিরে আসতে হবে। নির্বাচনের ক্ষেত্রে কোনো ধরনের তদবির বা সুপারিশ অযোগ্যতা বলে গণ্য হবে। EPS প্রার্থী বা আগে দক্ষিণ কোরিয়ায় অবস্থান করেছেন, তাঁদের আবেদন গ্রহণযোগ্য নয়।

আবেদন করবেন যেভাবে

নির্ধারিত গুগল ডকসের এই লিংকে ইংরেজিতে ফরম পূরণের মাধ্যমে আবেদন করতে হবে।

সার্ভিস চার্জ

বোয়েসেলের সার্ভিস চার্জ বাবদ ১৫ হাজার টাকা, ভ্যাট, ট্যাক্স, ভিসা, স্মার্ট কার্ড, কল্যাণ তহবিল, বিমা, ডেটাবেজ রেজিস্ট্রেশন ও অন্যান্য ফি বাবদ ১৪ হাজার ৮৯০ টাকাসহ মোট ২৯ হাজার ৮৯০ টাকা প্রদান করতে হবে।

নির্বাচিত প্রার্থীদের জামানত বাবদ ৫০ হাজার টাকা (ফেরতযোগ্য) প্রদান করতে হবে। সংশ্লিষ্ট প্রার্থী ও অভিভাবক/সুপারিশকারীর কাছ থেকে ৩০০ টাকার নন–জুডিশিয়াল স্ট্যাম্পে অঙ্গীকারনামা গ্রহণ করা হবে। নির্ধারিত সময় শেষে ফিরে না এলে জামানত বাজেয়াপ্ত করা হবে। এ ছাড়া সংশ্লিষ্ট কর্মী এবং তাঁর অভিভাবক/সুপারিশকারীর নামে বিধি মোতাবেক ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণ করা হবে।

বাছাইপ্রক্রিয়া সম্পন্ন হলে নিয়োগকর্তা কর্তৃক CCVI/ ভিসা–সংক্রান্ত কার্যাদির জন্য প্রমাণাদি প্রাপ্তি সাপেক্ষে প্রয়োজনীয় কাগজপত্র বোয়েসেল গ্রহণ করবে। বিস্তারিত তথ্য এই লিংকে জানা যাবে।

 

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/greece-start-recruiting-bangladeshi-workers-soon-greek-migration-minister-484110

TBS Report

26 August, 2022, 10:05 am

Last modified: 26 August, 2022, 10:08 am

Greece to start recruiting Bangladeshi workers soon: Greek migration minister

Notis Mitarachi, the Greek minister for migration and asylum, has said that a scheme to offer seasonal worker visas to thousands of Bangladeshis will start this fall.

However, some migrants are critical of such a plan, adding that it offers no long-term security, the minister added while speaking with the InfoMigrants. 

Bangladesh and Greece signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was projected in order to bring to the Hellenic Republic 4,000 workers from Bangladesh annually in a lawful way on 9 February this year.

The agreement was signed in Dhaka by Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, as well as his Greek counterpart Panagiotis A Mitarakis.

"Bangladeshi workers will be provided with a 5-year temporary work permit. Under the agreement, seasonal workers will be hired in the agricultural sector," the Bangladesh expatriate ministry pointed out in this regard.

The Migration Minister of Greece, Notis Mitarachi, has confirmed that the scheme that will start this fall is a legal pathway for all people to work in the Hellenic Republic without relying on people smugglers.

About 30,000 citizens from Bangladesh are currently living in the Hellenic Republic, based on the figures provided by the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens, while the same source notes that nearly half of them are believed to not have legal status.

Such an agreement reached between Greece and Bangladesh comes after a large number of migrants from Bangladesh took risky journeys in order to reach Greece.

Authorities in the Hellenic Republic have argued that the seasonal worker visa scheme, which is confined to the agricultural sector at present, is in line with the policy described as strict but fair by authorities in Greece.

"Greece does not accept illegal migration. We protect our borders. We do not allow smugglers to select who comes to Europe," Mitarachi told InfoMigrants.

It has been confirmed that the conditions for undocumented migrants from Bangladesh who receive the regular status will be the same, meaning that they will be permitted to stay in the Hellenic Republic for five years as seasonal workers, doing agricultural work for a period of nine months.

In this regard, Mitarachi stressed that Greece is the first European country to give a long-term seasonal visa, offering migrants dignity and security.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/greece-start-recruiting-bangladeshi-workers-soon-greek-migration-minister-484110

TBS Report

26 August, 2022, 10:05 am

Last modified: 26 August, 2022, 10:08 am

Greece to start recruiting Bangladeshi workers soon: Greek migration minister

Notis Mitarachi, the Greek minister for migration and asylum, has said that a scheme to offer seasonal worker visas to thousands of Bangladeshis will start this fall.

However, some migrants are critical of such a plan, adding that it offers no long-term security, the minister added while speaking with the InfoMigrants. 

Bangladesh and Greece signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was projected in order to bring to the Hellenic Republic 4,000 workers from Bangladesh annually in a lawful way on 9 February this year.

The agreement was signed in Dhaka by Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, as well as his Greek counterpart Panagiotis A Mitarakis.

"Bangladeshi workers will be provided with a 5-year temporary work permit. Under the agreement, seasonal workers will be hired in the agricultural sector," the Bangladesh expatriate ministry pointed out in this regard.

The Migration Minister of Greece, Notis Mitarachi, has confirmed that the scheme that will start this fall is a legal pathway for all people to work in the Hellenic Republic without relying on people smugglers.

About 30,000 citizens from Bangladesh are currently living in the Hellenic Republic, based on the figures provided by the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens, while the same source notes that nearly half of them are believed to not have legal status.

Such an agreement reached between Greece and Bangladesh comes after a large number of migrants from Bangladesh took risky journeys in order to reach Greece.

Authorities in the Hellenic Republic have argued that the seasonal worker visa scheme, which is confined to the agricultural sector at present, is in line with the policy described as strict but fair by authorities in Greece.

"Greece does not accept illegal migration. We protect our borders. We do not allow smugglers to select who comes to Europe," Mitarachi told InfoMigrants.

It has been confirmed that the conditions for undocumented migrants from Bangladesh who receive the regular status will be the same, meaning that they will be permitted to stay in the Hellenic Republic for five years as seasonal workers, doing agricultural work for a period of nine months.

In this regard, Mitarachi stressed that Greece is the first European country to give a long-term seasonal visa, offering migrants dignity and security.

[Joel Ahmed]

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/migration/fiji-hire-more-workers-bangladesh-493942

Kamran Siddiqui

11 September, 2022, 09:45 am

Last modified: 11 September, 2022, 09:49 am

Fiji to hire more workers from Bangladesh

 

Highlights:

• Demand mainly in construction sector
• Bangladesh expects to send minimum 1,000 workers each year
• Salary to range from Tk40,000 to Tk45,000
• Around 3,500 Bangladeshis are currently working in Fiji
• Majority of them work in garment factories, restaurants, hospitals, construction sector and agriculture 

Fiji wants to hire more workers from Bangladesh, mainly in the construction sector,as the pacific island country is suffering from a shortage of labour to cope with the post-Covid development activities. 

"Our construction companies have been making applications to bring in workers from Bangladesh as there is a major shortage of skilled manpower in this sector," said Fiji's Attorney General and Minister for Economy AiyazSayed-Khaiyum during the recent joint forum of Australia-Fiji Business Councils.

The attorney general said there is a huge shortage of workers in fields such as brick and tile layers, reported Fijivillage on 5 September.

According to an unofficial estimate, around 3,500 Bangladeshis live in different cities and the countryside of Fiji. A majority of them work in garment factories, restaurants, hospitals, the construction sector, agriculture and other service sectors.

At present, Bangladesh does not have an embassy in Fiji. Bangladesh's High Commission in Australia looks after the well-being of workers in Fiji.

"The demand for workers has increased in Fiji. People are coming here legally through private agencies with the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) cards from Bangladesh," MdSalahuddin, counsellor (labour) and the first secretary of the Bangladesh embassy in Australia, told TBS.

"We expect to employ 1,000 people in Fiji each year with salaries ranging from Tk40,000 to Tk45,000," he added.

Apart from recruitment through private agencies, Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment issued a job circular on 7 September to employ six male employees in Fiji for various posts including A/C technician, financial controller and construction foreman.     

The population of Fiji is 0.9 million, with a $5,589 per capita GDP, according to World Bank data in 2017.

Tourism is Fiji's main revenue source, contributing about 38% of the country's GDP, according to the International Finance Corporation.

The sector supports 1,18,000 jobs and channels spending into local supply chains including agriculture, building and construction, cultural industries, and more.

However, the textiles and apparel industry has been identified as a potential sector for Bangladeshi businesses to invest in Fiji, according to the Bangladesh High Commission in Australia. 

Other potential sectors include pharmaceutical, information and communication technology.

The export volume from Bangladesh to Fiji was $2.64 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The major export items are apparel and knit, pharmaceutical products, carpets and other textile floor covering, footwear, ceramic products, articles of iron and steel, toys and games etc.

Fiji commends Bangladesh nationals

The Fiji government has commended the efforts of Bangladesh nationals who have contributed to the recovery of the Fijian economy, reports FBC News based in Fiji.

While speaking during the establishment of the Bangladesh Fiji Association committee recently, Defence Minister of Fiji IniaBatikotoSeruiratu urged Bangladeshi workers to avoid giving their travel documents to their employers in Fiji.

While speaking with some of the Bangladeshi nationals, he found out that their passports were taken by their employers as soon as they arrived in the country.

"If such incidents are happening, please do let the authorities know because we want you to enjoy Fiji. You are contributing a lot," he added.

Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, high commissioner for Bangladesh to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, urged all Bangladeshis working in Fiji to have the proper and relevant documentation.