Oman-Bangladesh MoU on manpower
August 27, 2008
MUSCAT — Oman and Bangladesh have concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on manpower cooperation and an agreement to avoid double taxation following discussions here on Saturday between senior officials from the two countries.
Dr Juma bin Ali bin Juma, Manpower Minister, who signed the MoU with Dr Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment in Bangladesh, said the deal encompassed the categories of manpower, specialised, skilled and semi-skilled workers, required by Oman’s labour market.
The taxation agreement, meanwhile, is aimed at avoiding double taxation on income generated from international air transportation. Juma said it sought to regularise taxes imposed by the two countries on national airline companies that operated international services.
Saud bin Nasser Al Shikaili, Secretary-General of Taxation at the Finance Ministry, said the accord would enhance bilateral trade and passenger and cargo traffic. The Sultanate has now signed 11 agreements with foreign countries for avoiding double taxation in the air transport sector.
Chowdhury said the pact would give a fillip to bilateral cooperation. Also on Saturday, the Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, Sayyid Fahad bin Mamhood Al Said, received the Bangladeshi official. The Deputy Premier expressed his satisfaction at the level of Oman-Bangladesh relations, and the two sides agreed to step up these links further, especially in the economic sector with the active participation of private sectors in both countries. Chowdhury said Bangladesh was keen to expand ties with Oman, adding that the two new agreements would open up ‘new horizons’ of cooperation.
Source: Khaleej Times
Bangladesh’s remittance from overseas jobs to fall
August 27, 2008
Bangladesh’s manpower export and the remittance from it could come down in the next two years as major labour markets in the Gulf region and Malaysia have banned fresh recruitment or reduced quotas, said a newspaper.
Quoting experts, the Daily Star said the government’s target for this year to reach 900,000 recruits for overseas employment was unlikely to be met.
Economists suggest immediate actions fearing that this trend will soon hit the overall annual remittance from manpower export that is the second highest after the garment exports.
‘We may not feel the blow of the bans or cut in overseas employment immediately, but after two to three years, remittance will definitely dry up if no major changes take place,’ warned Syed Ashraf Ali, former executive director of Bangladesh Bank.
‘The government should make overseas jobs cost-effective. Because of bad competition sponsored by manpower exporters, workers pay too much money. This should be addressed,’ said M.G. Kibria of Morgan State University, who recently conducted a study on Bangladesh’s manpower export and remittance.
Around five million Bangladeshis are working abroad. Of them, about three million are living in the Gulf and sending approximately 70 percent of the remittance.
The number of Bangladeshis working abroad during 2000-05 ranged between 180,000 to 250,000, while about 380,000 workers went abroad in 2006 and 832,000 in 2007 seeking jobs, according to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training.
Bangladesh also witnessed good growth of remittance, which was $1.88 billion in 2000-01 financial year and it went up to $5.97 billion in 2006-07. In the same year, the country received $1.73 billion from Saudi Arabia, $680.7 million from Kuwait and $80 million from Bahrain.
But from May 27 this year, Bahrain stopped issuing work permits to Bangladeshi nationals, except the professionals. Things are no different in Saudi Arabia also from where thousands of Bangladeshi nationals had to leave after the kingdom unofficially stopped renewing residential permits to them.
Kuwait stopped hiring manpower from Bangladesh in late 2006 on grounds that Bangladeshis resort to crimes, while Malaysia stopped issuing fresh visas in October last year following problems created by Malaysian employers and recruiting agencies on both sides.
Though around 400,000 workers were sent to Malaysia, serious problems of cheating, exploitation and underpayment have been reported. Cheated, around 2,000 of them returned home in last one year.
Syed Ashraf Ali, who has recently conducted a study on overseas employment and remittance for the Asian Development Bank, said the recent events taking place in Bangladesh’s labour markets were a blow to the overseas employment sector.
‘If there is no outflow of workers and if expatriates working for years are forced to return home, inflow of remittance will automatically come down,’ he said.
The government’s most important task should be to train potential migrants as per the requirements of the labour-receiving countries and to strongly check irregularities and fraudulent practices.
‘Remittance is like a goldmine for Bangladesh. It plays a key role for stability in balance of payment and mitigating unemployment problems here,’ said economist Atiar Rahman, chairman of Unnayan Samannay, a research organisation.
‘Banning or curtailing recruitment of Bangladeshis in the tested countries will definitely have major negative impact on our economy. We will be in deep crisis if this source of remittance is destroyed,’ said Rahman.
‘Today’s problems are actually part of the failure of governance,’ he added.
The Daily Star Sunday said in an editorial that Bangladesh missions should have database of all the workers abroad and should respond to the problems immediately.
Joint Panel to Address Bangladeshi Labor Issues
August 27, 2008
Labor problems among the Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom will top the agenda of the Saudi-Bangladesh Joint Committee scheduled for April 7-8 in Dhaka. Abdulrahman Albawardi, deputy minister for labor affairs, will lead the 16-member Saudi side. Leading the Bangladeshi team will be Mohammed Aminul Islam Bhuyan, secretary for economic relations.
“The forthcoming meeting will resolve several issues pertaining to the Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom,” said Wahidur Rahman, deputy chief of mission of the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh. He said the Bangladeshi team would be seeking permission from the Saudi side to draw up policy guidelines with the Saudi government regarding the recruitment of Bangladeshi manpower.
“We believe in sending men who are skilled and semi skilled in their respective professions and we like our men to be paid a minimum wage of SR600 per month, not including food and accommodation,” Rahman said, pointing out that this would eradicate the free-visa system, which is common among a section of the Bangladeshi workers.
Rahman also said that the participants at the meeting would also identify the problems faced by the Bangladeshi employee and their employers during their period of work contracts.
“Some of the problems are created due to not paying of wages and harassment,” he said, pointing out that they could be resolved in a friendly manner. Admitting that a fraction of the Bangladeshi population has got into some problems in the Kingdom, leading many to identify Bangladeshis as a specific problem, he said that the rest of the workforce has earned a good name for their loyalty and perseverance.
A spokesman from the Labor Ministry said that the ministry would take up the issue of workers who are coming into the Kingdom on free visas, pilgrims who overstay their Haj and Umrah visas, and upgrading the skills of Bangladeshi workers.
Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi on Sunday confirmed a ban on recruitment of some categories of the Bangladeshi workers. He said the Kingdom would continue to recruit Bangladeshi doctors and engineers, as well as cleaning and maintenance staff for government departments. The ban was only limited to certain jobs, such as domestic servants and farm hands, he added.
Gosaibi said the ban was part of a new recruitment policy that aims to strike a balance among the various nationalities working in the Kingdom. “The restriction was imposed in line with the policy of limiting the number of workers hired from a single country,” he said, adding that the ban would be reconsidered in the future.
The minister added that the recruitment ban on some categories of Bangladeshi workers was called for since some of these categories have already reached the set quota.
The minister said the decision excludes cleaning and maintenance companies having government contracts. The ban is not permanent since the ministry periodically revises recruitment decisions. “The ministry might reconsider the status of Bangladeshi workers in the future if a balance is struck between their numbers and that of all foreign workers in the country,” Gosaibi said.
Attestation of Saudi Work Visa
August 27, 2008
| Papers required for the attestation of the visa are:• Number of visa issued from the Saudi Labour Ministry against Bangladesh mentioning the profession• Demand letter given to the Bangladesh Recruiting Agency from the Employer mentioning the no of workers with profession, salary and other facilities
• Demand letter duly attested from the Chamber of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia. • A prescribed form to be submitted to the Labour Wing at the Embassy of Bangladesh. |
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The Labour Wing plays the role of coordinator and facilitator by providing guidance and necessary assistance to the non resident Bangladeshis living in the Saudi Arabia. Service provided by Labour Wing The services cover different welfare aspects including: 1. Authentication and verification of employment contracts 2. Attestation of documents pertaining to recruitment from Bangladesh 3. Counselling and assistance to Bangladeshi workers in settling disputes with employer 4. Registration of death of a Bangladeshi national. 5. Assistance in follow up work with sponsors and local authorities for the earliest burial/transportation to Bangladesh of mortal remains. 6. Issue of No Objection Certificate for the local burial or transportation to Bangladesh of mortal remains of deceased Bangladeshi nationals. 7. Assistance to the deceased family in claiming death compensation due to traffic accident deaths. 8. Attending various Shariah Courts for the settlement of death compensation claims of deceased Bangladeshi nationals who authorise the Embassy with their Power of Attorney. 9. Realisation of death compensation claims and regular dues of a deceased from concerned authorities and remit the money to Bangladesh to the next of kin of deceased Bangladeshi nationals, through Bureau of Manpower and Employment Training (BMET). 10. Attending Labourt Courts to assist the Bangladeshi nationals in settlement of their legal claims against the sponsor. |