Saudi Arabia issues 3,000 work visas

Saudi Arabia's labour ministry has issued 3,000 visas to hire Bangladeshis for domestic services.

"Maharana, a mega recruitment company...will hire workers through the recruitment agencies of the two countries," Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, first secretary (Labour) at the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh told The Daily Star over the phone yesterday. 

The Saudi recruiters no longer need to seek attestation from the embassy. "We will monitor the recruitment system," he added. 
Meanwhile, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said the Saudi recruiters have demanded 40,000 domestic workers. 

"We had no problem with getting work demand...But we are now observing that our women are reluctant to go to that country," he told journalists in the capital's Probashi Kalyan Bhaban after holding a meeting on the labour policy's formulation.

Only some 3,100 females registered online with the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training following a deal Dhaka and Riyadh inked on February 10 for 12 types of workers such as maids, drivers, housekeepers, security guards and gardeners.
A visiting Saudi delegation had also expressed the desire to hire 10,000 a month.

Under the deal, private recruiters from both of the countries will hire the workers, each of whom will get a minimum salary of SR 800 (Tk 16,000) with free accommodation and food.

Expressing frustration over the poor response, Mosharraf said private recruiting agencies have been asked to deal with the issue. 
"I think our female jobseekers did not respond on a large scale thinking about the salary...we have told them (Saudi recruiters) that they have to review the whole system gradually," he mentioned.

He said they already assigned 92 agencies and another 100 would gradually be selected.

However, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies President Mohammad Abul Bashar said they had not got any work demand from the Saudis.