Iftekhar assured of Kuwait’s bid to resolve workers’ problems
September 12, 2008
Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury Friday said the Kuwaiti authorities have assured him of every effort to resolve the problems faced by the Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, reports UNB.
Iftekhar, also in charge of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, returned home early Friday after a two-day visit to Kuwait.
The Foreign Adviser mentioned that the Kuwaiti authorities announced an amnesty until October 15 for illegal workers to depart Kuwait without any legal impediments.
“To facilitate the Mission’s work in this regard, and also in response to public demand, we have decided to increase manpower at the (Bangladesh) Embassy,” he said.
“We’ve also engaged a Kuwaiti lawyer to protect our workers’ interests. I had a meeting with him as well,” Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury said.
During the visit, the Adviser held discussions with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Labour Minister Bader Fahed Ali Al-Duwailah and other senior officials.
He also held two rounds of discussion with the members of the Bangladeshi community.
Talking to the media in the city Friday, the Foreign Adviser said the Kuwait authorities have assured him that a minimum wage of KD 40 is being fixed for the workers and their living conditions would be improved.
“The question of compensation to the deported labourers would be speedily addressed,” he said, adding: “Kuwait will also take stern action against the Kuwaiti companies who have exploited the Bangladeshis.”
Iftekhar informed that the Kuwaiti Parliament would meet in an emergency session on September 10 to discuss the crisis with regard to foreign workers, including Asians and Bangladeshis. “In that respect the visit was well-timed,” he said.
He said the Kuwaiti authorities see Bangladesh as “a great friend who stood by them at the hour of their greatest need during the Iraqi occupation.
“I also appreciated their support to our economic development. I urged them to take skilled manpower from Bangladesh in the future.
They also agreed to consider supporting some new projects in Bangladesh covering the Padma Bridge, Chittagong Port, and the Special Economic Zone in Sylhet.”
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. |
Govt fixes minimum wage for unskilled workers at 550 SR
July 20, 2008
According to a press release of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, The minimum wage will be effective from July 1 this year.
If the employer provides lodging only, the minimum wage for an unskilled worker has to be SR 750 (1SR=Tk 19). If the employer does not provide any food and lodging, the minimum wage will have to be SR 950, the release added.
A recent inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Abdul Matin Chowdhury, expatriates’ welfare secretary, fixed the minimum wage and decided that no employment demand letter or visas will be approved if the wages are less than that fixed by the government.
According to officials and manpower agencies handling recruitment of workers to the kingdom, Bangladeshi workers get the lowest wages due to fierce competition between recruiting agencies and middlemen who buy visas from Saudi employers.
Presently, each of the around 1.7 lakh Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia gets only around SR 200 to SR 300 per month, prompting some of the workers to be engaged in criminal activities for additional income or be engaged in multiple jobs — a violation of laws of the Middle Eastern country.
The meeting also decided that all the Saudi Arabia-bound workers — either with individual or group visas — must undergo an orientation session before their departure.
A spokesperson at the expatriates’ welfare ministry said 616 Bangladeshis were found to be detained in a deportation facility in Riyadh for various reasons and 286 Bangladeshis were detained for criminal offences.
As of February 9, a total of 348 Bangladeshis were in the facility awaiting deportation, the spokesperson added.
Some of the Bangladeshis were detained as they violated rules by switching jobs or did not have valid work permits or their visas expired, he said.
“It may be mentioned that many Bangladeshis wishing to save the money for their trip back home destroy their valid documents and surrender to Saudi police. According to the Saudi rules, the Saudi authorities pay for the airfare of the deportees,” he added.
Even a number of middlemen are encouraging legal Bangladeshi workers that they could save money if they returned home through the deportation centres, he said.
“No legal Bangladeshi worker has been deported to Bangladesh as yet,” said the spokesperson.
Manpower export
July 20, 2008
I must congratulate Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of Pubali Bank, for coming up with a very innovative scheme for funding the prospective job seekers abroad. A substantial number of the expatriate wage earners are victims of the unscrupulous manpower agents who extract substantial sums from job seekers for employment abroad. Pubali Bank has initiated an expatriate lending project whereby the bank will advance money to the prospective job seekers who will repay the loan from their remittances.
I do have some personal experience regarding manpower export. It just so happens that when Bangladesh commenced exporting manpower and introduced the manpower license system my license number was number one. That is to say that I was the first to get hold of a manpower export license.
Read more
Bangladesh offers to provide more manpower to Saudi Arabia
July 4, 2008
President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed Thursday said Bangladesh was ready to provide more skilled and unskilled manpower to Saudi Arabia for fulfilling the demand of the labour market of the oil-rich country, reports UNB.
He also said Saudi Arabia could import pharmaceutical products and medicines and explore the possibility of joint-venture investment in boosting Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector that would also benefit the Saudi investors. Read more
Saudi Arabia Suggests Bangladesh Workers Know Saudi Culture
April 21, 2008
DHAKA, April 9 Asia Pulse - Saudi Deputy Minister for Labour Ahmed Abdulraham Al Mansour Tuesday urged the authorities in Bangladesh to send workers with adequate knowledge about Saudi culture, lack of which often embarrasses both the sides.
He also called for sending skilled workers in keeping with the changed labour market that prefers skilled hands, holding out offer of assistance for skill training.
“We can assist Bangladesh in developing skilled manpower, if necessary,” he told reporters after the Saudi-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting in the NEC conference room.
Ahmed led the Saudi delegation while ERD secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan headed the host team to the two-day 9th JEC meeting that concluded Tuesday.
Welcoming skilled workers from Bangladesh, the Saudi Junior Minister said workers need to know the Saudi culture, social norms and values as well as the labour laws.
Lack of knowledge about the rules and regulation creates problem, he said, adding that outbound workers should also ensure that they have legally proper appointment letter and they should know their job in Saudi Arabia.
He noted that the Saudi labour market has changed a lot by now and authorities now prefer importing skilled workers.
Replying to a question, he said he would not bring sweeping charges against all the recruiting agencies that recruit workers to Saudi Arabia and allegedly cheat workers from Bangladesh.
He, however, suggested ensuring transparency of the local recruiting agencies.
The ERD secretary, Aminul Islam Bhuiyan, said the JEC had a fruitful meeting on bilateral issues, including manpower export, trade and commerce, economic cooperation and tourism. Labour issues dominated the talk.
During the meeting, the Saudi delegation members said that the Saudi government was examining the number of workers from different countries as against their respective quotas.
They also made it clear that it was not an isolated measure against Bangladesh.
The team further assured that the recent unrest by the Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia would not be a threat for sending Bangladesh workers to his country.
Saudis ban Bangladeshi workers in two sectors
April 4, 2008
Riyadh: Saudi Labour Minister Dr Gazi Al Gosaibi has clarified that the decision to stop hiring of Bangladeshi workers was in the housing and agricultural sectors.
“This decision was taken in view of the fact that the quota fixed for Bangladeshi workers in the kingdom was over,” Gosaibi said.
“Their hiring would be restricted to medical and engineering fields. However, there will be an exception for the jobs in the maintenance and cleaning sectors with the condition that their percentage in all the sectors should not exceed 20 per cent,” he told reporters here on Sunday. Read more