Bangladesh must gear itself to exporting more skilled labour
August 27, 2008
Bangladesh must gear itself to sending more skilled workers abroad, said speakers at a roundtable Saturday.
Prof Muzaffer Ahmed, chairman of Transparency International Bangladesh, called for a change in the education system to create more skilled manpower for export.
Speaking at the roundtable on ‘Manpower Export and Prospects: What to do to check cheating’, he said: “There are growing demands for skilled manpower in the world. So the present education system has to be changed to produce that skilled manpower.”
“When I attended my local zila school, I learnt about agriculture, metalwork and carpentry.”
“Now these schools do not provide such educations. There is doubt about the quality of the country’s 900 government and private colleges,” the TIB chairman said.
He went on to address the recruiting process for overseas workers: “Our embassies are not efficient. There is doubt whether our embassies abroad have the proper papers of those who are going to work in other countries. The responsibility of the recruiting agency should be to reach those papers to the embassy in the (target) country.”
“Alongside exporting manpower, ensuring workers have the skills required by providing training is also the responsibility of the recruiting agencies,” Prof Muzaffer said.
“The remittance process should also be made easier.”
On salaries of overseas workers, the TIB chairman said: “If India can bargain over the minimum salary of their workers, then why can’t we?”
Executive director of NGO ‘Shishuk’, Shakiul Millat Morshed, pointed out that 25 years ago the minimum wage in Middle Eastern states was around 750 dirham, but now it has fallen to just 350 dirham.
Prof Atiur Rahman of Dhaka University said the middlemen play a big role in exporting manpower.
“How these middlemen can be brought under a legal framework is the biggest challenge now. Giving them licences could be considered.”
The Dhaka University professor said how to send more skilled manpower to Western Europe, Russia and Korea should be considered seriously.
President of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, Golam Mostafa, said licensed recruiting agencies cheated workers less, but went on to claim that the ministry of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment does not provide the expected cooperation.
Former inspector general of police ASM Shahjahan said: “The workers must themselves be made aware of their rights and these issues in order to curb cheating and bring more transparency in the system.”
Sustainable policies must be formulated for the welfare of overseas workers, he added.
Sheba Bangladesh Foundation and Prochesta Kalyan Sangstha organised the roundtable at the LGED auditorium in the city Saturday.
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