We can’t afford to lose UAE labour market, too
After the recent freezing of recruitment of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malaysia because of irregularities, the possibility that job opportunities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) might also be shrinking for our citizens, as highlighted by a report from Prothom Alo, is quite worrying. Losing a market like the UAE, from where we received the highest amount of remittance in the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year, would deal a severe blow to our remittance inflow, not to mention the many thousands whose lives rely on it.
After Saudi Arabia, the UAE has the largest base of Bangladeshi migrant workers. In fact, more than 17 percent of our migrants are employed in the UAE, as per an estimate by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET). Between July 2023 and April 2024, we received more than $3.65 billion in remittance from the UAE—the highest from any destination country. Meanwhile, workers in Saudi Arabia sent $2.16 billion during the same period.
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However, employers in the UAE are reportedly growing reluctant to recruit Bangladeshi workers due to fraudulent activities on our end, raising the chances of us losing a strong source of foreign currency. According to industry insiders, some unscrupulous manpower agents and agencies have been abusing a post-Covid provision enforced by the Gulf country that allows workers to enter the country on a tourist visa and then convert it to work visa through the recruiters. This has led to many workers getting cheated and stranded in the UAE with no work. Employers, too, don't want to risk getting fined for recruiting illegal workers.
It is a familiar story: fraudulent activities by agencies led to Malaysia freezing recruitment of Bangladesh workers, too. Over the past several years, many issues regarding overseas recruitment have been flagged and irregular activities regularly reported, with demands for appropriate remedies, yet the authorities have done little in this regard. Their inertia is leading us towards the potential loss of another key labour market, especially at a time when we need the precious dollars to replenish our dwindling reserves.
It is, therefore, high time the authorities stopped dilly-dallying, and did what's necessary to overhaul our overseas employment sector by getting rid of rampant corruption and mismanagement.
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