Overseas jobs show upward trend

Overseas employment showed an upward trend in July this year following a growing demand for Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia.

According to the data available with the Expatriates' Welfare Desk at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Bangladesh sent 25,352 workers abroad in July while the figures were 19,289 in June and 22,582 in May.

It sent a total of 248,533 workers in the last seven months of the current year. Of them, 201,751 were male and 46,782 were female.

The statistics also showed that the highest 51,782 workers went abroad in March, followed by 45,420 in April, 44,850 in February, and 39,258 in January.

At present, only Saudi Arabia is hiring workers from Bangladesh. Three manpower receiving countries--the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Kuwait--suspended entry of travellers from Bangladesh following a spike in Covid-19 infections in April last.

The demand for Bangladeshi workers has increased recently in the gulf country because some major labour-sending countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka cannot send their workers to Saudi Arabia due to Covid-19 restrictions, according to manpower recruiters.

Besides, Saudi Arabia increased job quota for Bangladeshi workers to 40 per cent from 30 per cent in the private sector last month.

Manpower recruiters said if Bangladesh could tap the opportunity properly, the recruitment of workers by the labour-receiving country would increase several times.

The government should improve services and enhance facilities for manpower recruiters and overseas jobseekers to unleash their potential, said Arifur Rahman, the owner of Oparajita Overseas.

Although the government kept the overseas employment sector outside the purview of lockdown, they were not getting services from Saudi Embassy, he mentioned.

For this reason, new visas are not being issued for workers. At the same time, services at the GCC Approved Medical Centres' Association (GAMCA) remained suspended for its clients.

Under such circumstances, they are facing uncertainty over getting new visas, and medical fitness certificates, said Mr Rahman, also secretary general of Manpower Recruiting Agencies Oikko Porishad, a panel of manpower recruiters.

Manpower recruiters, however, said the trend of migration was gradually getting back to normal since the beginning of 2021, but the second wave of coronavirus dealt another blow to the sector.

They also suggested that the government take effective measures to contain the transmission of the pathogen for the sake of the economy as well as public health.

On the other hand, migrant rights activists said the quality of migration should also be ensured so that workers don't suffer in the destination countries. Market analysis was essential before sending workers abroad, they added.