Migration report

Nurul Islam BSc

Hon'ble Minister
Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare & Overseas Employment

Message

I am very much pleased to know that for the first time the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has
prepared and published a comprehensive report incorporating all relevant data and graphical illustrations on the overall
performance of overseas employment from Bangladesh. As all of us are aware that overseas employment is an important
sector which reduces the pressure on employment of the country especially among the young workforce. Overseas
employment is not only creating jobs for our people but also contributing to our development initiatives through
remittances and investment. The Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has been relentlessly
working for the welfare of these expatriates by undertaking various programs and initiatives in cooperation and
consultation with our local and international development partners.

We are delighted to say that 2015 has been a successful year for Bangladesh as far as overseas employment and
remittances are concerned. In 2015, a substantial upward trend is observed in overseas employment from Bangladesh. In
2014 there are 425,684 workers had been employed in the overseas job market while in 2015 it is 555,881 which is 30.58
% more compared to the previous year. Similarly, the number of woman migrant workers has also increased in
comparison to the number of woman workers in 2014, the percentage of increase in 2015 is 36.44. We hope that in 2016,
this positive trend will continue and more Bangladeshi workers will be employed outside of the country. At the same time
the number of skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh to overseas labour market has been increasing due to
various intervention of the Ministry such as establishment of TTCs and IMTs. In 2015, we also witness positive growth of
remittances from Bangladeshi expatriates’ spread over 160 countries around the Globe. By sending more skilled and
semi-skilled manpower, the rate of remittance inflow to Bangladesh will be enhanced significantly in the upcoming days.

I would like to extend my thanks to all concerned, especially the authors, who were actively involved and contributed to
produce this report. I hope that in the coming years this initiative will be continued and more concerted efforts will be
given for it.

Nurul Islam BSc

Page 01
 Migration report

Begum Shamsun Nahar

Hon’ble Secretary
Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare & Overseas Employment

Message
I am very much delighted to see that the Ministry has produced a comprehensive report, though in a brief form, on the
various achievements of the Ministry in 2015 with a special focus on overseas employment. In several areas the Ministry
has recorded a number of successes in comparison to previous years. For instance, the number of overseas employment,
the number of migrant female workers, number of migration from economically lagging districts, skill composition of
overseas employments have shown positive trend in 2015 in comparison to those achieved in 2014.

These achievements are the result of multifarious interventions and initiatives undertaken by the Ministry in recent years.
The Ministry endeavors to improve management of the migration process. In line with the present needs, it has been
reforming legal and institutional mechanisms. The enactment of relevant acts, regulations and policies, preparation of
database for the aspirant migrant workers, expansion of training facilities in different districts by establishment of Techni-
cal Training Centers, Institute of Marine Technologies, the expansion of Probashi Kallayan Bank and widening the scope
of Wage Earners Welfare Board for serving the migrant workers and their families are few of them. In recent time, the
Ministry has undertaken a project for relocating existing Bangladeshi schools to own premises in diffrent cities of KSA
taking into consideration of providing improved educational facilities to the children of Bangladesh expatriates.

Over the years there has been an increased recognition of the contribution of the labour migrants to the national econo-
my. There is evidence that overseas employment is one of the main sources for employment. Along with the male work-
ers, a significant number of woman workers are also going abroad with job. The participation of woman workers in the
overseas employment is not only helping them to become economically solvent, but also contributing to the gender
empowerment initiatives. Apart from these, remittance from migrant workers also contributes to our economy in various
ways. In short increasing participation of Bangladeshi workforce in overseas employment has been contributing to our
socio-economic upliftment over the years.

I would like to extend my gratitude's to those officials who have sincerely worked and contributed in preparing this
report. I believe that this report can be a useful resource for finding the major achievement of this Ministry in 2015.

Begum Shamsun Nahar

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 Migration report

Executive Summary

Exploring new employment opportunities, retaining existing labour markets and rendering services to the expatriate
workers are the main tasks of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. It is important to assess the
activities of the Ministry and know to what extent it was able to achieve its strategic goals and targets. In line with this
view this report has been prepared.

Bangladesh has a huge potential of human resources which cater to the need of labour receiving countries. Workers are
participating in the development process of both the sending and receiving countries through migration process.
Migrant workers both male and female from Bangladesh are mostly employed in the Middle-eastern and South Asian
countries. Workers are being employed with different skills and employment depends on the need of the workers in a
particular country. But recruitment of the overseas workers is not a simple one; rather it is a complex process. So, it is
important to know the different forces and dynamics of the whole migration process.

Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has also been playing a proactive role in order to protect the
rights of the migrant workers. It also works on the issues of legislative reforms, regulating the activities of the recruitment
agents, ensuring rights of the workers, etc. It is important to analyze the overall issues of migration and relevant aspects
of overseas employment undertaken in a year which will show the achievement and shortcomings of different areas as
well as strength and weakness of the management. This report will help to understand the areas of concerns and assist
formulation of policy, programme on migration and reform of the existing rules and regulation in line with the present needs.

The study regarding the overall overseas employment in 2015 and related activities by the ministry reveals that
recruitment of workers from Bangladesh by the foreign employers has been increased 30.74% compared to previous year.
In terms of number it has been increased from 425,684 in 2014 to 555,881 in 2015. Moreover, Bangladesh has been ranked
10th in the list of the highest remittance receiving country in 2015. In the 2014-15 financial year Bangladesh received
15.31 billion USD as remittance from expatriates. Female migration has also been increased by 36.44% in 2015 in
comparison with previous year and for the first time it crossed the figure of one hundred thousand. As an individual
country Oman remains the highest number of migrant receiving country in a row for several years and KSA became the
3rd highest receiving country while Singapore slipped down to 4th position in 2015. UAE's intake of female migrant
workers was highest. In 2015, the percentage of skilled manpower rose to 39% from 34.95% in 2014. In 2015, the
percentage of less-skilled workforce has been decreased to 43.67% in 2015 from 45.43% in 2014. Construction sector has
emerged as a single job category where highest number of Bangladeshi workers were employed and "General Workers'
category is the second highest employment sector followed by 'Domestic Workers'.

The study also stated that Bangladesh signed a MOU with KSA regarding the recruitment of Domestic Service Workers in
2015. Moreover, Labour Wing of Oman and Dubai started a toll free hot line for the welfare of migrant workers. The report
also mentioned that in 2015, workers were recruited mostly in individual category and 12.77% recruited on group
category.

Ministry finalizes the Policy of ‘Welfare of the Expatriates and Overseas Employment, 2015’ and the rules under ‘Overseas
Employment and Migrants Act, 2013’. The Ministry is also preparing to operationalize the existing legal frameworks and
enforcement of relevant rules and acts pertaining to migrant workers. Ministry also submitted the initial report of ICMRW
to UN. It also emphasizes on skill development and it has been establishing more TTCs as well as IMTs.

A lot of challenges are prevailing ahead in achieving migration related targets of SDGs, 7th Five year plan, GFMD. To
achieve the targets, concerted efforts are needed from all concerned stakeholders including the development partners.

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Migration report

Note from the Authors

In the socio-economic context of our country, overseas employment is one of the major issues we are dealing with. Over-
seas employment through contractual labour is one of the core elements of labour migration. Labour migration is also
the outcome of human desire to seek better employment and livelihood outside of own territory. The ultimate result of
labour migration process is transformed into services in destination country and remittance for source country. The
development contribution that migrant workers make to their host and origin countries has been globally recognized.
Keeping this in view, this report has attempted to reveal the major achievements and shortcomings in the labour migra-
tion sector in Bangladesh in 2015.

There are several indicators which measure the performance of migration sector. For instance the total number of
outbound migrant workers, their skill composition, training and briefing received, male-female migrant ratio, flow of
remittance, region-wise migration, reforms of rules and regulations, diplomatic efforts with the destination countries,
welfare initiatives, are few of them. The report has attempted to use these indicators to assess the position of Bangladesh
in 2015 in comparison to those achieved in previous years.

The analysis done in this report addressed major issues of migration as well as pertinent aspects of overseas employment
and showed the achievement and shortcomings, as well as strength and weakness of the migration management process
which are the major mandates of this Ministry. We believe that this study helped to identify the areas of major concerns
which need to be addressed by formulating policy, programme and making necessary reforms.

The whole study has been carried out with the information and statistics stored in the BMET database. Information has
also been collected from different wings of the ministry and the Labour Wings of different overseas missions of Bangla-
desh. Along with the table, we have tried to use graphics to demonstrate various data in this report for better understand-
ing of the general readers.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Hon’ble Minister and Secretary of this Ministry for their continuous
support, guidance in preparing this report. We are also grateful to officials of the Ministry and BMET, especially database
administrator, who were helping us through providing relevant data and information. We hope that this report will be a
very good source of information on performance of Bangladesh in the labor migration sector. The report may also assist
the relevant stakeholders working in this sector to undertake various plans and programs for the overall improvement of
migration process of the country.

K M Ali Reza Kazi Abul Kalam

Deputy Chief Joint Secretary
Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and
Overseas Employment Overseas Employment

04 Page
 Migration report

Acronym

ADB : Asian Development Bank

ADD : Abu Dhabi Dialogue
ADP : Annual Development Program
BGTTC : Bangladesh German Technical Training Centre
BKTTC : Bangladesh Korea Technical Training Centre
BMET : Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training
CP : Colombo Process
CIP : Commercially Important Person
DEMO : District Employment and Manpower Office
DFW : Domestic Female Worker
DSW : Domestic Service Workers
ECNEC : Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
FYP : Five Year Plan
GDP : Gross Domestic Product
GFMD : Global Forum on Migration and Development
ICRMW : International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families
IDB : Islamic Development Bank
ILO : International Labour Organization
IMT : Institute of Marine Technology
IOM : International Organization for Migration
KOICA : Korea International Cooperation Agency
KSA : Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
LW : Labour Wing
MEWOE : Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment
MOFA : Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PKB : Probashi Kollayan Bank
SDC : Swiss Development Cooperation
SDG : Sustainable Development Goal
SFMMTTC : Shekh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Mohila Technical Training Center
SOM : Senior Officials Meeting
TTC : Technical Training Centre
UAE : United Arab Emirates
WEWB : Wage Earners Welfare Board

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Migration report

Table of Content

01 Introduction and Background 07

02 Overseas Employment in Different Countries 08
03 Overseas Employment of Female Workers 11
04 Male and female workers employment in last 5 years 13
05 Skill Composition for Overseas Employment 13
06 Destination Countries with different Skills 15
07 Job Category Wise Migration in 2015 16
08 Workers from Different Districts of Bangladesh 17
09 Flow of Remittances 18
10 Skill Development Initiatives 19
11 Pre-departure Briefing 20
12 Initiatives of Probashi Kallyan Bank 20
13 Welfare Activities 21
14 Awarding CIP 23
15 Institutional and Policy Reforms 23
16 Legislative Reforms of Migration Management 24
17 Bilateral Agreement 25
18 Employers and Workers 26
19 Recruitment of Workers through agents and individuals 26
20 Returned Migrant Workers 27
21 Complaints management 27
22 Recruitment Agents 28
23 Submission of ICRMW Report 28
24 Participation of Regional and International Consultative Process 29
25 Seven Five Year Plan (7FYP) and Migration 29
26 Sustainable Development Goal and Migration 30
27 Key Challenges 30
28 Way Forward 31
29 Conclusion 32
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 Migration report

1.0 Introduction and Background

Overseas employment, mainly by the form of temporary contractual labour movement, has become an integral part of
globalization process associated with increasing integration to national economies. It has not only reduces unemploy-
ment but also facilitates the flow of foreign currency in the country in the form of remittances. Moreover, temporary
contractual labour migration has become an essential livelihood strategy for many people of Bangladesh. It has remark-
able positive impact on social development and empowerment through skill transfer and by fostering local development.

In Bangladesh, around 2 million workforces are being added in the labour force each year. It is quite understandable that
the required number of employment is not being created within the country in the present context of our economy. Thus
overseas employment is one of the main sources for reducing the unemployment problem and it has become one of the
demanding options for the youth. Now a days not only male workers are going abroad, but a significant number of
female workers are also being employed in overseas job market.

Remittance inflow from migrant workers contributes to our national economy in a large scale by increasing foreign
exchange reserve, per capita income and employment opportunities. It has been continuously lifting-up the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh. Furthermore, it contributes to economic growth and development by enhancing
trade, investment and development by serving as a channel for development finance (remittances), the transfer of skills
and ideas, and the establishment of commercial and cultural networks.

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Migration report

Over the years there has been an increased recognition of the contribution of the migrant workers to the national econo-
my. The establishment of Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the enactment of an Overseas
Employment and Migrants Act 2013, registration of aspirant migrant workers in the database, expansion of training
facilities in different districts by establishment of Technical Training Centers and Institute of Marine Technologies, the
creation of Probashi Kallayan Bank for serving the migrant workers. Furthermore, the ratification of the 1990 UN Conven-
tion on Migrant Workers and Their Families, the celebration of ‘The International Migrants’ Day at the government level
are the initiatives towards acknowledging the importance of the migration and the role of remittances from migrant
workers to the national economy.

In the context of present era of globalization it has become inevitable to retain the existing labour market and needs its
expansion. The Government has adopted a series of effective measures with a view to augmenting the overseas employ-
ment sector through some strategies and action plans. Migration governance should be made an integral part of the
overall development strategy if Bangladesh desires to transform itself into a developed country from the present status.

2.0 Overseas Employment in Different Countries

A significant number of workers are being employed in different countries each year. A substantial upward trend is
observed in 2015 in respect of overseas employment from Bangladesh. In 2014, 425,684 workers were employed in the
overseas job market while in 2015 it was 555,881 which is 30.58 % more than that of the previous year.

Overseas Emloyment 2011-2015

700000
607798
600000 555,881

500000 568062
Number of worker

425684
400000
409253
300000

200000

100000

0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Year

Oman remains the highest number of workers receiving country, while Qatar stood second followed by Saudi Arabia. In
2015, Oman alone received 129,859 workers in different categories while it received 105,748 workers in 2014; therefore
in 2015, the number is 22.8% more than the previous year.

08 Page
 Migration report

Qatar received 87,575 workers in 2014, while it received 123,965 workers in 2015, which was 41.55% more than the previ-
ous year. In 2015, Saudi Arabia was the third highest receiving country of workers from Bangladesh amounting 58,139.
Although Singapore was the third highest receiving country in 2014, its position was slipped down to fourth place in
2015 with the number of Bangladeshi workers received 55,523 which was 1.41% lower than the previous year.

140,000 129,859
123,965
120,000

100,000

80,000
58,139 55,523
60,000

40,000 30,483
25,271 22,093
20,000

0
an

s
ia

an
ia

re
ta

te
ys
b
Om

o
Qa

rd
ira
ra

ap

ala

Jo
iA

Em
ng

M
ud

Si

ab
Sa

Ar
d
ite
Un

Major destinations for Bangladeshi workers in 2015

From the analysis of last five years (2011-2015) intake of Bangladeshi workers by the major destination countries, it is
observed that the recruitment trend for Oman and Singapore is relatively stable. In case of Qatar, the recruitment number
has been increased significantly over the years. However, in case of UAE, the number is dropped drastically. In 2015, the
number of Bangladeshi workers flown to KSA is increased in comparison to the numbers of previous 4 years.

Page 09
Migration report

300000

250000

200000

150000

100000

50000

0
Oman Qatar Singapore KSA UAE

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Intake of Bangladeshi workers by the major destination countries from 2011-2015

03. Overseas Employment of Female Workers

The number of female migrant workers has been increasing at an optimistic pace for the last 5 years. In 2011, total
number of female workers were 30,579 which rose to 103,707 in 2015; the growth is 239.14%. In comparison to the
number of female workers in 2014 (76,007), the percentage of increase in 2015 is 36.44. Out of 103,707 female workers in
2015, 61,864 were domestic workers.

120000
103707
100000

80000 76007

60000 56400

37304
40000
30579

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Employment of female workers from 2011-2015

10 Page
 Migration report

The various regulatory, legal and protection measures for the female migrant workers have contributed to this growth.
The trend also depicts that in the coming years the female migrant workers from Bangladesh will be increasing.

30,000
24,304
25,000
21,773 20,951
20,000
16,979
25,000
8,781 8,641
10,000

5,000

United Jordan Saudi Oman Lebanon Qatar

Arab Arabia
Emirates

Top destinations of female workers in 2015

Among the destination countries, United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the most popular one for Bangladeshi female workers
in 2015. UAE was followed by Jordan. In 2015, 24,304 and 21,773 women were employed in UAE and Jordan respectively.
The other top destinations for Bangladeshi women migrants in 2015 were Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon and Qatar.

70000

60000 58270

50000

40000
Total
30000
Female
21232 20952
20000
15039
12654
10657
10000
166 484 167 13
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Total and female migrants in KSA from 2011-2015

It is to be noted that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is one of the main destination countries for Bangladeshi workers in
many respects. It was the highest Bangladeshi workers receiving country for long time and still it is the most preferred
destination country for many workers. In 2015, KSA was one of the most significant destinations for female Bangladeshi
workers. In 2015, 20,952 female workers were recruited by KSA employers in various job categories whereas only 13
women found their employments in KSA in 2014.

Page 11
Migration report

Male and female workers employment in last 5 years

Male Female
570494
537483

452174
352853

349677

103707
76007
56400
37304
30579

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

If we compare between male and female workers, we can find that in 2011, the female migrants were only 5.69% of their
fellow male migrant workers. However in 2015 the percentage of female migrant workers increased to 22.93 percent of
its male counterpart.

12 Page
 Migration report

05. Skill Composition for Overseas Employment

Analyzing the aggregated data on overseas employment from 1976 to 2014, it is found that among the skill composition
of the expatriates workers during this period 31.35% were skilled, 15.07% semi-skilled, 50% were less-skilled.

Graph A : Category-wise Overseas Employment from 1976 to 2014

Others Prfessional
106,588 221,418
1.17% 2.42%

Skilled
2,865,883
Less-skilled 31.35%
4,571,062
50.00% Semi-skilled
1,377,855
15.07%

On the contrary only in 2014, the percentage of skilled and semi-skilled manpower were 34.95 and 16.47 respectively
which clearly indicates that in the recent trend the number of skilled and semi-skilled overseas Bangladeshi workers are
increasing. At the same time the percentage of less-skilled workers is decreasing over the time.

Graph B : Category-wise Overseas Employment in 2014

Others Prfessional
11690 1730
2.75% 0.41%

Skilled
148,766
Less-skilled 34.95%
193,403
45.43% Semi-skilled
70,095
16.47%

The data of skill-wise overseas employment shows that in 2015, the percentage of skilled manpower rose to 39% from
34.95% of the previous year. In 2015, the percentage of semi-skilled manpower remained almost same in comparison to
that of 2014. However, the percentage of less-skilled workforce has been decreased to 43.67% in 2015 from 45.43% in 2014.

Page 13
 Migration report

Others Profession
469 all
1% 1828
0.33%

Less- Skilled
Skilled
skilled
243929 214,328
214,328
39%
43.67% 39%

Semi-skill
91,099
16%

Skill-wise employment in 2015

Although the number of skilled manpower from Bangladesh to overseas labour market has been increasing over the
years, the proportion of overseas-bound professional from Bangladesh has been decreasing. For instance, in 2014, the
percentage of profession was 0.41, whereas in 2015, the number declined to 0.33%.

700000

600000 568062 555,881

500000
2011
400000
2012
301552 2013
300000
229149 214,328 243929 2014
200000 2015

91,099
100000
28729
1192 1,828 7440 4697
0
Total Professional Skilled Semi-Skill Less-Skill others

Skill composition of Bangladeshi workers from 2011-2015

14 Page
 Migration report

By and large, the number of skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh to overseas labour market has been
increasing due to various intervention of the Ministry. The upward trend of skilled and semi-skilled manpower is resulting
declination of the percentage of less-skilled manpower although the number of latter category is not diminishing due to
increasing number of total migration from Bangladesh. The migrant under professional category has been decreasing
due to various domestic and international factors which can be explained elsewhere in details.

06. Destination Countries with different Skills

Workers from Bangladesh have been employed in different countries with different skills. In 2015, Oman employed
highest number of workers which is 129,829. Oman received 59,917 workers with less skill and it was 46.2%, while 47,953
were skilled workers and it was 36.9%, and 21,869 were semi-skilled and it was 16.8% of total employment. The skill
composition of Bangladeshi workers recruited by other major destination countries namely Qatar, KSA, UAE and Jordan
are illustrated in the pie charts given below:

Oman Professio
nal
Professi
onal
Qatar
0.1% 0%

Skille
37%
Less Skilled
skilled Less 38%
46% skilled
48%

Semi-
Semi-
Semi- skilled
skilled
skilled 14%
14%
17%

Skilled
UAE 2%
Professional KSA Professional Semi-Skilled
0% 1%
0%
Skilled Semi-skilled
10% 14%

Less skilled
76%

Less skilled
97%

Page 15
 Migration report

Jordan
Professional
0%

Skilled
Less skilled 38%
45%

Semi-skilled
17%

It is to be noted that in 2015, all the Bangladeshi migrant workers employed by Singapore are skilled, while Bahrain, Italy
and Lebanon employed are all semi-skilled.

07. Job Category Wise Migration in 2015

In 2015, we have witnessed some changes in the composition of migration in terms of job category. The number of
migrant workers in 2015 in 10 major job categories is shown below:

140000
118967
109350 120000
100639
100000

80000
64273
55974
60000

40000
23662 27345 22598
18247
20000
5387 9439
0
r

r
ur
r

rs
rs

er

on

r
ne

r
r

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ne

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ive

ke
he

nt

bo

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sig
as

ai

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ea
Dr

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pe
Ot

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La
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W
r

n
Ca

tic
io

l
d

ra
es
oo

ct

ne
ru

m
W

Ge
Do
st
n
Co

Composition of migration in terms of job category in 2015

It is to be noted that construction sector is emerged as a single job category where highest number of Bangladeshi work-
ers were employed and the figure is 118,967. "General Workers' category is the second highest employment sector
followed by 'Domestic Workers'. The trade Cleaner, Waiter, Wood Designer, Mason, employed almost similar number of
Bangladeshi workers.

16 Page
 Migration report

08. Workers from Different Districts of Bangladesh

The cumulative data on district-wise overseas migration from 2005 to 2014 shows that Comilla stands on the top of the
list. During the said period 572,142 persons from Comilla migrated for overseas employment. Comilla is followed by
Chittagong which sent 502,140 workers abroad during the same period. Other major districts of migrant workers are
Brahmanbaria, Tangail, Dhaka, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni and Mymensingh.

District Wise Overseas Employment From 2005 to 2014 (Major District)

600000 572,142

502,140
500000

344,619
400000
264,676
259,797

230,876
215,121

300000
210,114
258,428
143,468

145,701
127,368
125,718

123,398
118,105

200000
112,969
107,857

106,886

105,515
101,455

82,804

70,936
68,691

69,920
63,350
60,451

56,869
56,018
57,338

51,061
51,676

45,221
41,765

42,873
35,727

34,291

35,390
33,023
31,085
100000

23,277
21,932

22,026
23,458
21,629

21,353
20,142
0
a t ra na rs
ur ha hi ul the
ag a
ah Ta ng

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Ch Dh ria
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Less developed regions, mostly lagging districts got enormous importance in the national policy and plan on migration.
Importances are attached so that people from less developed districts are encouraged and promoted for the migration
with overseas jobs.

2,500 2,347
2,154
2,000 1,912
1,807
1,559
1,284

1,500 1,409
1,244
1,120

1,000 2011
797
757
737
649
640
619
592
545

2015
517
444
361
328

500
343
385
279

0
Sh t
Ja ari
n

r
D m

Ra r
ag n
at

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nd

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ch

ak

ilp
lm
Ba
n

Ra

Th
Pa

La

Comparison of migration from less developed districts between 2011 and 2015

Page 17
 Migration report

Analyzing the overseas migration data of 2011 and 2015, it is found that the number of migrated workers from less devel-
oped districts such as Rangpur, Dinajpur, Kurigram, Niphamari, Sherpur, Jaypurhat, Lalmonirhat, Panchagarh and Thakur-
gaon has increased significantly. On the other hand, rate of migration from Khagrachhari, Bandarban remained almost
unchanged. In case of Rangamati, the number is slightly slipped down; this is an exception in the migration trend. Howev-
er, the overall ratio of overseas employment from the less developed regions has significantly increased in 2015 in
comparison to 2011.

09. Flow of Remittances

International remittances inflows from Bangladeshi migrant workers provide a solid basis to our economy. It is contribut-
ing around 8 percent to our GDP. Two-three decades back, our national budget was heavily dependent on foreign aids.
Scenarios have changed with time as remittance inflow has been increased. Bangladesh has been ranked 10th on the list
of the highest remittance receiving country in 2015. In the 2014-15 financial year Bangladesh received 15.31 billion USD
as remittance from expatriates. In first 5 months of 2015-16 financial year, the amount of remittance received was USD
6.169 billion.
18000
15316.91
16000 14228.26 14461.14
14000 12843.43
12000
6169.64
Million 10000
(Till Nov 15)
USD 8000
6000
4000
2000
0
3
4

2
5
6*

01
01

01
01
01

-2
-2

-2
-2
-2

12
13

11
14
15

20
20

20
20
20

Flow of Remittance in last five years

From the above figure we can see that the growth of international remittances for Bangladesh was almost stable during
last five years although the world economy has experienced a lot of turmoil and recession during this period.

3.5
2.989
3
2.535
2.5
2
1.5 1.285
0.961 0.851
1
0.5
0
KSA UAE Malaysia KUWAIT Oman
Country
Top 5 Remittance Sending Countries in 2015 (till Nov) in USD Billion

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 Migration report

Although Bangladeshi workers are spread over around 160 destination countries around the world, there are certain
countries from where Bangladesh receives a major portion of its remittances. For instance, in 2015, Bangladesh received
highest amount of remittances from KSA which is 2.989 billion USD, followed by UAE 2.535 billion USD. Other three top
source countries of remittances for Bangladesh are Malaysia, Kuwait and Oman.

10. Skill Development Initiatives

Bangladesh has set a policy to send more skilled manpower abroad along with semi-skilled and less skilled workforce and
in line with this policy it has been preparing a large pool of skilled people in different trades and categories. Government
of Bangladesh has taken multiple initiatives, plans and programs to improve the skills of migrant workers according to the
demand of the overseas recruiters and employers.

The Ministry has increased the number of trainees and training centers in different regions, including less developed
regions. In 2010, a total number of 37 Technical Training Centers (TTCs) and 1 Institute of Marine Technology (IMT) provid-
ed skill and technical training to 59,554 trainees. During 6th Five Year plan period (2011-15), 27 more TTCs and 5 more
IMTs were established to provide skill and technical training to 3,55,670 trainees. At present there are 64 TTCs and 6 IMTs
functioning under this Ministry to provide technical training to the aspirant workforce who are being employed both in
Bangladesh and in overseas job markets

300000
257892
250000

200000

150000
114455
100000 90545
65569 74700

50000

0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Training Provided by IMTs & TTCs from 2011-2015

If we compare the training capacity of the existing TTCs and IMTs, we can see that in 2014, the number of people trained
was 1,14,455, whereas in 2015, the number jumped to 2,57,892 which is 125.32% higher than that of the previous year.
Just 5 years ago, i.e. in 2011 only 65,569 trainees passed from the TTCs and IMTs.

To provide skill training to at least 400,000 people annually, the MEWOE has taken initiatives to establish TTCs at Upazilla
level. Some of the TTCs will have special provisions to run courses or trade on the basis of the requirements of the destina-
tion countries. As part of this initiative, “Establishment of 40 TTCs in 40 Upazillas and 01 IMT in Chittagong” project has
been approved by ECNEC and its implementation process has already been started. In addition to these, the existing TTCs
and IMTs are being renovated, equipped with modern machinery and more facilities are developed with the funding
from Government of Bangladesh and development partners in line with the demand of the local and global job markets.
As a result, their capacity is being enhanced and qualities are improved. After completion of the ongoing projects, the
quality as well as capacity of the TTCs and IMTs will be further developed.

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 Migration report

11. Pre-departure Briefing

Pre-departure orientation is one of the important aspects of the migrant workers. Small number of workers are actually
received this sort of orientation programme earlier and maximum number of workers were not briefed prior to their
departure. Migrant workers got briefing through the sessions conducted by BMET officials and the session includes
learning of rules, regulation, norms, practices, culture, employment agreement, service conditions, working
environment, salary and other benefits, remittance system, local languages etc. of the destination countries.
Unfortunately workers of individual category were exempted from this programme and only a few workers having group
visa attended the orientation. In 2011, the number of out-bound workers received pre-departure training was only
25,740. However, in 2015, this number rose to almost 147,828. The ‘Pre-departure training’ initiative by the Ministry is
widely appreciated as one of the ‘best practices’ being carried out for the migrant workers.

In 2015, 3 days compulsory pre-departure orientation programme conducted for Oman, KSA, Qatar and Bahrain bound
workers irrespective of group or individual visa system. According to BMET statistics 43,282 workers for KSA, 45,041
workers for Oman, 41,385 workers for Qatar and 18,120 workers for Bahrain received 3 days pre-departure briefing. These
briefings were conducted at BKTTC Dhaka, BGTTC Dhaka, SFMMTTC Dhaka and BKTTC Chittagong.

Number of migrants Number of persons

received Pre-departure
Country Male Female Total orientation
KSA 37,187 20,952 58,139 43,282
Oman 112,880 16,979 129,859 45,041
Qatar 115,324 8,641 123,965 41,385
Bahrain 20,317 402 20,719 18,120
Source : Training Wing of BMET

From the above table it is found that Bahrain bound migrant workers are at the top of the list in terms of percentage of
receiving pre-departure training, followed by KSA.

12. Initiatives of Probashi Kallyan Bank

To promote labour migration from less developed regions of the country through providing financial support the
Ministry established Probashi Kallayan Bank (PKB) in 2010 and it has been providing soft loans to cover migration cost to
the out-bound workers. The bank has also given emphasis on rehabilitation of the retrenched workers. PKB has disbursed
Tk. 734 lakh to 899 beneficiaries in 2011-12 financial year. The coverage has increased to Tk. 3326 lakh to 4249
beneficiaries in 2014-15 financial year. In the first 6 months of the 2015-16, 4129 person received Tk. 4134 lakh from PKB
as loan. The disbursement of ‘Re-integration loan’ has also increased manifold over the last five years.

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 Migration report

(upto December 2015)

5000

4249

4129
4134
4500

4000

3347
3500

2604
3000

2500 Beneficiary
2000
Amount in Lakh
1159

1500
936
899
734

1000

500

0
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16

Loan disbursed by PKB

The share of migration loan to less developed regions (i.e. Rangpur, Khulna, Barisal and Rajshahi Divisions) is almost 40%.
The recovery rate of the bank loan of PKB is quite satisfactory. From the above information it could be concluded that the
PKB loan is becoming more popular among the aspirant migrant workers and returnees who are retrenched from their
overseas job and wants to take further efforts to go abroad for employment or to start up their own business activities.

13. Welfare Activities

Through the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB), the Ministry started its welfare activities from the year 1990. Apart
from ‘Pre-Departure Briefing sessions’ the Board provides services to the migrant workers regarding their Visa, emigration
clearance through 3 Welfare Desks at departure and arrival lounge of the Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong Airports.

120000
Numbers Amount in thousand taka
100000 95130 97325

75249 78635
80000
65065
60000

40000

20000
1869 2201 2419 2718 2695
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Burial and Transportation of Human Remains

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Migration report

It has also been providing financial assistance for burial of dead body of any Bangladeshi expatriates’ and financial
support to the family of the deceased migrant workers. In 2011, family of 1869 deceased migrant workers received Tk.
650.65 lakh, whereas in 2015 the number rose to 2695 and Tk. 973.25 lakh were given to their families to meet the
expenses of burial services.

Number Amount in Lakh Taka

14000
12225
12000

10000

8000 7227

6000

4250
3041
4000

2729
2310

1391
1314
1100

2000
681

0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Financial Assistance

Similarly, the extent of financial support to the family of the deceased migrant workers has also been increased
significantly. In 2011, the 681 families of the deceased migrant workers received Tk. 1100 lakh. On the other hand, in 2015,
the number of family increased to 4250 and Tk. 12,225 lakh were distributed among them.

The Ministry has introduced scholarship program for the children of expatriates’ workers. Education scholarship has been
given for the students of PSC, JSC, SSC and HSC levels since 2012. During 2012-14, an amount of Taka 49 lakh has been
given as scholarship. Only in 2015, Tk 98.30 lakh were distributed among the 664 children of migrant workers for the
scholarship at various education levels. Over the time, the amount of these financial assistances and coverage are being
increased with an aim to expand the welfare facilities for the families of the migrant workers.

Consulate General of Bangladesh in Dubai and Embassy of Bangladesh in Oman have started toll free Hotline in 2015 to
render welfare services to the migrant workers under a project supported by SDC/ILO. Calls/queries received through toll
free number in Dubai and in Oman include questions related to Consular services (attestation of documents, renewal of
passport, endorsement in the passports etc.), MRP service (procedure, fee, timeline, status of MRP etc.), Procedure for
realization of death compensation and company dues, labour problem in workplace, Procedure for applying for Travel
Permits, Legal services, Recruitment procedure of DFW, Repatriation of dead body, Accident cases, Repatriation of
patients, Birth Registration, other emergency issues etc. The relevant Toll-Free helpline numbers are:

 United Arab Emirates: 800 1952, and

 Oman: +968 80081234 and +968 24603514.

Number of calls received through hotlines after introduction of the system since June, 2015 in Dubai, UAE and Oman
shown below:

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Month UAE Oman

June 123 -
July 349 89
August 9483 604
September 4971 356
October 7424 256
November 7983 256
December 6030 138
Source: Dubai and Oman Labour Wing

14. Awarding CIP

The Ministry has initiated to honor and acknowledge the contribution of non-resident Bangladeshis to the
socio-economic development of the country by awarding Commercially Important Person (CIP) status. Since 2011, a total
number of 41 CIPs have been awarded in various categories shown below:

Year Number of CIP

2011 09
2012 11
2013 11
2014 10

From 2015, the number of CIP awarded has been increased to 90 in three categories, namely remitter, investors and
importer of Bangladeshi goods.

15. Institutional and Policy Reforms

The Government of Bangladesh has ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families (1990) and enacted the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 to regulate
labour migration. The adoption of the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act (2013) further reflect the political will of
the present government to address migration and development inter-linkages in a comprehensive manner. However,
there is an urgent need to sensitize the people and build the capacity of government, civil society and private sector actor
to implement the existing legal provisions on migration.

The government is in the process of revising the Migrant Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy which is designed to
promote employment and ensure a higher level of welfare of Bangladeshi workers abroad, as envisioned in the
Perspective Plan 2010-2021. The proposed revised Migrant Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy emphasis on issues
such migration with dignity, right-based approach and to ensure decent work for migrant workers. To improve
professionalism and accountability, the MEWOE has developed ‘Migrant Worker Recruitment Agents’ Code of Conduct’. To
strengthen monitoring of safe migration, the MEWOE has also developed a ‘Recruitment Agents Classification System’
which will be put in place in near future. These instruments and mechanisms are at different stages of approval of the
government.

To ensure welfare of the migrant workers in the host countries, the Ministry has strengthened existing labour wings (i.e.
16 labour wings in 14 countries) in Bangladesh missions by allocating supporting staffs and resources. In addition to this,
12 other new labour wings have been established in 11 countries so that the migrant workers are served better by the
Missions.

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Initiatives have been taken to strengthen the existing set up of the MEWOE by taking into consideration the increasing
challenges in the field of migration and its mainstreaming into development paradigm. The issues of expatriates’ welfare
and overseas employment are mostly managed by the MEWOE with the help of its agencies such as BMET and WEWB.
Therefore, the MEWOW, BMET and WEWB need to be reformed in order to face the multifarious challenges in migration
management. At the same time, the field offices (DEMO-District Employment and Manpower Office) serving the migrant
and their family members at the grass-root level under this Ministry also need to be strengthened.

16. Legislative Reforms of Migration Management

Overseas migration from Bangladesh is regulated in according to the provision of ‘Overseas Employment and Migrants
Act, 2013’. There are 3 rules namely, ‘Emigration Rules, 2002’, ‘The Recruiting Agent’s Conduct and License Rules, 2002’ and
‘The Wage Earners’ Welfare Fund Rules, 2002’ are in operation and according to the Section 47 of the Act, Government will
make necessary Rules. Until such Rules are made the Government may execute the existing Rules compatible with the
Act. In 2015, MEWOE completed the drafting of 4 Rules namely, ‘Labour Migration Management Rules, 2015’, ‘The
Recruiting Agent’s Conduct and License Rules, 2015’, ‘Migrant Workers Welfare Fund Rules, 2015’ and ‘Migrant Workers
Registration Rules, 2015’. ILO provided technical assistance for drafting the said Rules.

‘Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013’ stated the procedure of the issuance of the license, cancellation &
withdrawal of license, forfeiture of security money, responsibilities of recruitment agent, classification of recruitment
agents, registration of aspirant migrant workers and protection of their interests, employment contract of the workers,
Labour Wing and agreement with destination countries, rights of the migrant workers, offence, penalty and trial process
of the unlawful migration etc.

According to the Section 16 of the Act, Government may classify the recruitment agents in a graded manner. In this
regard, ILO also provided technical assistance to prepare a Code of Conduct for the recruitment agents. This Code of
Conduct and Classification System is based on Bangladeshi laws, ILO Conventions, recommendations, other relevant
international and Bangladeshi instruments and best practices. It is also important to promote decent work and ensure
flexibility in the functioning of global labour markets in order to protect workers human and legal rights, and ensure their
safety and security.

Recruitment Agents Code of Conduct are outlined in Section 15 of the Act, and is designed to offer a platform to facilitate
legal compliance and spur continuous improvement of policies and practices in the recruitment agent industry by
entailing:

 Adherence to all national and international laws and regulations;

 Implementation of all mandatory administrative policies and procedures; and
 Implementation of a mechanism to monitor recruitment agents and to adopt best practices through the
recruitment agent Classification System.

Code of Conduct of the Recruitment Agent stated the recruitment agent’s duties include Professional conduct, Informed
Consent, Migrant Stewardship and Access to Remediation and Resettlement. It also stated the workers' rights and
Recruitment Agents Industry Stewardship. There will be a Classification Committee which will examine the performances
of the agents and there will be an opportunity given for self assessment by the agent as well. To sensitize the system a
workshop with selected recruitment agent has been conducted by ILO in 2015.

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‘Labour Migration Management Rules, 2015’ controls migration process- procedure for processing permission of
employment, conduct training, orientation of the workers, and disposal of complaints. Moreover it stipulates the role of
Registrar and Labour Attaches. ‘The Recruiting Agent’s Conduct and License Rules, 2015’ regulates the activities of
Recruiting Agents, stated the procedure of application for license, renewal, restoration of cancelled license, agents
conduct, fees of license etc. ‘Migrant Workers Welfare Fund Rules, 2015’ arranges welfare activities for the migrant workers
and their families and manages welfare fund etc. ‘Migrant Workers Registration Rules, 2015’ stated the system and
procedure of the registration of the aspirant migrant workers, returned migrant workers and preparation of other
databases (if any).

‘Migrant Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy, 2015’ has also been drafted with the technical assistance of ILO in
2015. The objectives of the policy are:

 Promoting safe migration

 Protection of migrant workers and their family members
 Benefits and welfare services for migrant workers
 Migration of women workers
 Linking migration with national development
 Governance of labour migration

17. Bilateral Agreement

The MEWOE has done remarkable improvements in the area of bilateral understanding and cooperation. So far, bilateral
agreements (BLAs) with Qatar, memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Kuwait, UAE, Malaysia, Jordan, South Korea,
Oman, Libya, Iraq, Maldives and Hong Kong have been signed. Another 3 new MOUs with Lebanon, Thailand and Bahrain
are expected to be signed soon. Such initiatives are significant for not only creating potential markets for different types
of skills, but also for creating opportunities for better negotiations on worker’s rights in the host countries.

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 Migration report

In 2015, BLA was signed with KSA on recruitment of Domestic Service Workers (DSW). A MOU with international
Manpower Development Organization (IM) of Japan was signed on 8 July 2015. Moreover 6th and 7th Joint Working
Group Meeting with Malaysian Govt. was held in 2015. A high-level delegation from Bangladesh visited Thailand in July
and November 2015 and Australia in November 2015 in order to explore overseas employment opportunities.

18. Employers and Workers

Employers always prefer to recruit best workers to serve their organizations. In case of the recruitment of foreign worker,
employer tries to get maximum benefit in terms of productivity, reliability and dependability with comfort. Over the
periods, Bangladeshi workers earned reputation in labour receiving countries. Bangladeshi workers are mostly being
employed in the Middle-Eastern countries followed by South Asian countries. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the most
preferred destination of the workers and other Middle-Eastern countries as well. Bangladeshi workers are mainly
employed as less and semi-skilled workers in different countries around the globe.

Bangladeshi workers are getting two types of BMET clearance; one is group basis in a particular organization while other
category is an individual. In 2015, it was found that Twaik Company Limited of KSA employed highest number of 6,937
workers followed by another Saudi Company namely Ahmed Solaiman Al Fahad and Sons Limited Company which
recruited 4,652 workers. Seder Group Trading and Contracting Company of KSA recruited 3,943 workers and became third
highest recruiter while another Saudi Company Initial Saudi Arabia Limited became fourth highest number of recruiter of
Bangladeshi workers. Mafaheem Construction, Operation and Maintenance of KSA was the fifth highest recruiter of
Bangladeshi workers. Interestingly Hanwaha Engineering and Construction of Iraq recruited 1,698 workers and was the
sixth highest recruiter of Bangladeshi workers while Iraq took 11th position in terms of total recruitment. Classic Fashion
Apparel Industry Limited Company of Jordan recruited 1,579 workers and remained as seventh highest recruiter of
Bangladeshi workers.

According to the above statistics it was found that individual employers of KSA recruited highest number of workers
though KSA was the third highest recruiting country in 2015. No company found in Oman or Qatar in the top ten group
recruiters though Oman and Qatar were the highest and second highest recruiting countries respectively. It was also
found that three of the highest recruiting companies are cleaning company. Fifth and sixth highest recruiters were the
construction companies and construction workers of different trades being employed in these companies. Garment
workers were also recruited as the seventh highest recruiting category mostly employed in various companies of Jordan.

19. Recruitment of Workers through agents and individuals

Overseas employment is mostly processed by recruitment agents. (RA) It was found that BMET has given clearances to
4,79,637 individual visa and 70,976 demands of group visa in 2015. Recruiting agents work as authorized representatives
of the Ministry. The Ministry has framed specific rules, regulations for the operations of recruiting agencies. There are
mechanism to make them accountable for their activities. If the Ministry finds any irregularities in the recruitment process
of the agencies, legal actions are taken against them. However, there are incidents where middlemen come in between
the aspirant migrant workers and the recruiting agents and exploit the workers which result in higher migration cost. The
Ministry is very much vigilant to track down the unauthorized middlemen and bring them into justice for their wrong
doing. Moreover, there are cases where recruiting agencies split group demands into an individual visa to avoid systemic
procedures of getting recruitment permission from appropriate authority.

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If we analyze the recruitment of individual cases it was found that some companies have recruited a significant number
of workers for them in different point of times. It means that the demands are submitted individually instead of
submitting them as a group demand. It is heard that recruiting agencies encourages employers to prepare demand in an
individual manner. It was also heard that a good number of recruiting agencies didn’t collect demand from the employer
rather they assist the individuals to get ‘emigration clearance’ from BMET by using their license.

20. Returned Migrant Workers

A significant number of workers are going abroad for overseas employment in each year from Bangladesh. All records are
being kept in the database of BMET, but there is no data readily available on returned migrant workers. Since Immigration
Department at airports are suppose to keep all information of all passengers, so there might be an arrangement with the
said department in near future in order to keep statistics of the returned migrant workers. Probable steps could be a small
modification of the disembarkation card of the Immigration Department which may help to keep the desired information.
If additional information regarding returned workers like whether the worker was engaged in work or not and if so
whether worker is coming back permanently or temporarily can be added in the said card then it would be easier to get
information of returned migrants. It is to be noted that RMMRU recently completed a research through which it was found
that around 9% of the total outbound migrant workers in last ten years came back.

21. Complaints management

Complaint is a common phenomenon in overseas employment. There are two stages of complaints from the migrant
workers in the migration discourse. One is post migration and other is the pre-migration. It was experienced that
complaints found in both stages. Agents have taken money, but are not sending worker abroad is one of the major
complaints against recruiting agencies in pre-migration stage. Wages not paid in due time, not getting wages, not getting
other benefits as per service contracts, exorbitant migration cost charged by the agents etc. are the major elements of the
complaints in post-migration stage. As per section 41 of ‘Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013’ aggrieved person
can lodge complaints in the Ministry or BMET. Migrant workers can also submit complaint in the Bangladesh missions
abroad. According to the said section of the Act, after receiving the complaint investigation is to be completed within 30
working days and if the complaint is found valid, the Government has to dispose complaint directly or through arbitration
within 3 months from the date of completion of the investigation.

According to BMET, a number of complaints lodged against the recruitment agencies in 2015. After completion of the
investigation 14 complaints were established while 13 complaints were not established and the number of settled
complaints was 36. Tk. 10,89,000 were collected from recruiting agencies on the basis of established complaints in 2015.
04 Licenses of recruiting agencies were cancelled and security deposit forfeited and 07 licenses were suspended and their
operations are withheld. Total valid license as of 31 December,2015 is 961.

MEWOE has also received complaints of different nature from the aggrieved persons. MEWOE received 213 complaints in
2015 with different issues from home and abroad. After receiving the complaints MEWOE sent it to the relevant
organizations with a request to take necessary actions on it and to keep the ministry updated. Each individual also
received the copy of the said letter in order to get update of the matter. It was found that most of the complaints are about
abuses of the domestic female workers abroad, non-payment of insurance and wages in time, tracing out of migrant
workers abroad, forced occupation of lands, extortion of money by miscreants or relatives, threats to life and property,
abduction of expatriate’s children, asking for ransom, not getting compensation from wage earners’ welfare board,
assistance for the sick or stranded workers abroad or request to provide medical treatment for the sick migrant workers, etc.

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Migration report

22. Recruitment Agents

Recruitment agents are the main actors in the overseas employment arena. They arrange the demand from different
employers of different countries. In 2015, it was found that recruitment agents collected maximum number of demands
from KSA followed by Singapore, Malaysia, Iraq, and Qatar etc. According to BMET database, recruitment agent namely
Bangladesh Export Corporation (RL 803) sent maximum number of 21,952 workers in 2015 followed by Tower Trade
International Limited (RL-499) which sent 19,629 workers. Ifti Trade International (RL-1212) sent 15,851 workers became
third highest sending agency and Makka Madina Trade International (RL-810) sent 14,968 workers ranked fourth highest
sending agency. 3 recruiting agencies namely Estema International Recruiting Agency (RL-1251), A. A. Overseas Limited
(RL-851) and Biplob Overseas (RL-832) sent 12,855, 12,498 and 12,341 workers abroad respectively in 2015 and ranked
fifth, sixth and seventh highest sending agencies. BOESL (RL-147) is the only government owned agency sent 11,336
workers ranked eighth highest agency while R. S. Linkers Ltd. (RL-96) sent 9,976 workers and Star Manpower Services
(RL-760) sent 9,252 workers became ninth and tenth highest sending agencies respectively.

It is observed that the highest sending agency Bangladesh Export Corporation (RL-803) is mainly sending domestic
female workers in different countries. The other top ranking agencies were not also very much well known before. It is
also heard that all of the agencies have no marketing strategy and do not have any well established human resource
department of their office, but they manage to send a good number of workers abroad only by sending workers through
popularly known as 'processing'. i.e. people collect demand/visa individually and these agencies use their licenses to get
'BMET Clearance'. It is also evident that there is a serious lack of the recruitment agents in their efforts in market
exploration, collection of demand and any sorts of effective initiatives.

Among the top 10 recruiting agencies for female migrant workers M/S Bangladesh Export Corporation has occupied the
top slot which recruited 15,885 female workers for overseas employment. This number is 15.31% of the total female
migrant workers (103,707) in 2015. Other leading recruiting agencies for female workers are East-West Trade Linkers,
BOESL, M.H. Trade International.

23. Submission of ICRMW Report

Government of Bangladesh ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families (1990) and enacted the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 to regulate labour
migration. Bangladesh submitted initial report on the legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures taken to ‘the
Convention’ or ‘ICRMW’ in accordance with article 73, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Report has been prepared in
accordance with the guidelines issued by the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and
Members of their Families (CMW), and through a consultative process involving all stakeholders, including various
Government Ministries/ Divisions/ agencies concerned, national institutions, notably the National Human Rights
Commission and civil society organizations.

The Government of Bangladesh unconditionally acceded to the Convention. The accession itself had been a significant
step by Bangladesh towards protecting the rights of migrant workers and members of their families, and fulfilling the
Convention obligations. Bangladesh, as a State Party, seeks to ensure, and is deeply committed to upholding the
minimum international guarantees relating to the human rights of migrant workers and their families. Bangladesh
submitted the report to CMW through MOFA on 7 December 2015.

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24. Participation of Regional and International Consultative Process

The MEWOE has been actively participating various Regional Consultative Process (RCPs) and International Fora of
Migration. MEWOE participated in the 5th ADBI-OECD-ILO Roundtable on Labour Migration in Asia: Building Effective
Structures and Institutions for Migration Governance, Jointly organized by the Asian Development Bank Institute, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Labour Organization and hosted by the
Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI) in Shanghai, China from 28-30 January 2015. The Secretary of the
Ministry led the tripartite Bangladesh delegation to the ILO’s Asia Tripartite Meeting on ‘Realizing a Fair Migration
Agenda: Labour flows between Asia and the Arab States held on 06-07 May 2015 in Bali Indonesia.

Bangladesh, as a member of the Colombo Process, joined the Senior Official Meeting (SOM) held in Colombo, Sri-Lanka
in November 2015. Bangladesh has been contributing in this forum through both sharing its best practices and reviewing
and implementing its recommendations. Bangladesh is also participating and contributing to the Abu Dhabi Dialogue
(ADD) process which was set up for an action-oriented strategic partnership between countries of origin and destination.
Bangladesh hosted 4th Regional Training on Migration and Development and 7th Working Group Meeting of Budapest
process in Dhaka in November 2015. Since 2007, Bangladesh has been participating actively in the Global Forum on
Migration and Development (GFMD). It has assumed the Chairmanship of the GFMD and is going to host 9th GFMD
Annual Government Meeting in December, 2016. This Ministry is actively involved with the GFMD process and extending
its cooperation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

25. Seven Five Year Plan (7FYP) and Migration

The Seventh FYP has focused on the following major issues pertinent to migration and development:
 Promoting labour migration, specially from less developed districts;
 Improving the skills base for the development of new overseas labour market opportunities for Bangladeshi
nationals;
 Ensuring the protection of migrant workers’ human and labour rights. The plan has also delineated to implement the
certain projects and programs in order to achieve the migration related targets set in the plan:
 Establishment of District Employment and Manpower Offices (DEMO). all over the country will assist migration
management process.
 Costs of migration and remittance transfer will be reduced to facilitate the process.
 A ‘Catering Institute’ will provide market oriented skill training to address demand for new skills and knowledge.
 Completion of 40 TTCs and 1 IMT to ensure skill training program at grass root level including less developed regions.
 The quality component of training and skill development will be further enhanced. This will be done through capacity
building of trainers by setting up a permanent institute for trainers.
 Existing training of domestic workers will be extended, and all potential female migrant workers will be trained. The
Government has set a target to increase the share of female migrant workers from 16.51 percent in 2014 t0 30 percent
in 2020.

To achieve the above mentioned objectives pertinent to migration and development cited in the 7 Five Year Plan, the
Ministry has undertaken a number projects and programs funded by GoB and the development partners.

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26. Sustainable Development Goal and Migration

Due to growing importance of international migration in development, 3 specific targets are proposed in the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG). These are:

 Target 8.8: protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments of all workers, including
migrant workers, particularly women migrants, and those in precarious employment.
 Targets 10.7 : facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through
implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.
 arget 10c: by 2030, reduce to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance
corridors with costs higher than 5%)

To achieve the migration related goals and targets set in the SDG and monitor the progress, the Ministry has formed a
committee with the chair of Joint Secretary (Development and Planning) of this Ministry which has already started
working. The committee will come with specific recommendations and plan of action to assist in achieving the goals and
targets in relation to migration and development.

27. Key Challenges

Diaspora involvement is investment: Concerning the goal of accelerating the rate of public and private investment, it
is worth noting that the Bangladeshi Diaspora possesses a wealth of resources, knowledge, and cross-border networks
that could contribute to trade, investment and skills development. Diaspora investors are unlikely to be attracted to
contexts characterized by a number of challenge areas i.e. governance and infrastructure. Some measures to encourage
foreign investment relate to the reform of investment codes to ease the process of setting up businesses, the provision of
tax incentives, the establishment of ‘one-stop-shops’ that expedite in one single place the different administrative
procedures, or that provide referral services relating to business creation.

Development of Entrepreneurship: More targeted financial, training and social protection policies and measures could
support migrant-led SMEs development. Particular attention should be paid to enhancing the regulation of financial
entities providing credit and micro-credit. Entrepreneurs should also be offered information and opportunities for
training, and protection against risks e.g. insurance, to prevent them from failing into unsustainable debt.

Reforming Remittance Regime: A key challenge is to improve the regulatory frameworks governing remittances to
ensure that: (i) remittance senders and beneficiaries receive accurate and transparent information on remittance, (ii)
financial and non-financial institutions in the remittance market provide inclusive services and are publicly accountable;
(iii) cooperation with countries of destination to lay the ground for agreements between central banks to facilitate
remittances through the management of exchange rates; and (iv) regulatory frameworks allow for the development of
partnerships between financial and non-financial institutions to expand service provision, including diversifying the offer
of transfer options. These issues have been addressed in various national, regional and international forum such as
Colombo Process, SDG, GFMD, etc.

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Economic and Social Integration of Returnees: The Ministry is trying to formulate a policy/guideline which will help
the returned migrants to integrate with the mainstream socio-economic activities of the country. It is to be noted that
Probashi Kallayan Bank is currently providing ‘rehabilitation loan’ to those returned migrants who are destitute,
marooned and victim of unexpected circumstances. Such initiative need to be enhanced after proper scrutiny of
individual cases.

Protection of migrant workers and their families: To protect migrant workers and their families, a good number of
initiatives have been undertaken by the Ministry. The number of Labour Wings in the Mission already has increased, their
capacity has been developed and strengthened through continuous training and interaction so that they can protect
migrant workers in destination countries. Initiatives has been taken for periodic review of bilateral and multilateral
employment agreement and generate greater oversight of working conditions to ensure protection of expatriate
workers including special emphasis on female migrant workers. The Ministry is also working for eliminating fraudulent
recruitment activities and ensures standard and ethical practices. To protect the family members of migrant workers, who
may remain vulnerable due to absence of their bread earners, the Ministry is working through the DEMO, and local
administration. An enforcement team has been constituted by this Ministry to detect and punish any fraudulence
practice happening in the migration process.

Modernizing Migration Governance System: During last few years migration governance process has gone through a
lot of transformation. Digitization is one of the tools of this reform which is being deployed and used by the ministry and
its agencies. The ministry believes that comprehensive digitization of the migration process is also required for the effort
to demonstrate results related to sound planning and management of labour migration as well as for the recruiting
agency regulation.

Resource Allocation: Currently the Ministry is receiving around 0.25% of the total Annual Development Program (ADP)
of the government in carrying out migration and skill development programs and projects. For rapid improvement of the
migration related indicators set in the 7th Five Year Plan and SDG, more resources need to be allocation for this Ministry.
Apart from GoB funding, the Ministry is also exploring possible funding through development partners such as World
Bank, ADB, IDB, CIDA, SDC, ILO and IOM in implementing development projects and programs.

28. Way Forward

In the coming years, the Ministry has to put concerted efforts with the involvement of other stakeholders from
government and non-government sectors in order to achieve the goals and targets of the labour migration sector. It also
has to focus on the following areas and prepare a time bound action plan for the implementation:

 Attaining objectives of 7th FYP through undertaking development projects and programs.
 Linking migration with national development.
 Strengthen institutional reforms to achieve the nation's vision 2020, 7th FYP and migration related targets of SDGs.
 Strengthen skill development program by upgrading skills, international certification and mutual skill recognition.
 Safe and decent work for female migrant workers.
 Develop an efficient, inclusive, governance framework for labour migration.
 Establish more coordinated mechanism to ensure strong governance in the labour migration recruitment process.
 Mainstreaming migration into development process.

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 Updating migration related legal frameworks and enforcement

 Successfully holding GFMD at Dhaka in 2016
 Building awareness amongst the aspirants workers so that they are not exploited by any person or agencies.
 Recruiting agents need to be proactive in exploring overseas labour market for Bangladeshi workers

29. Conclusion:

The study shows that in the endeavors of creating overseas job opportunities for Bangladeshi workers and in the
governance of migration, Bangladesh has made great achievements in 2015. The Ministry has also been successful in
maintaining the existing traditional manpower markets and creating new opportunities for Bangladeshi manpower
which resulted in overall growth in the overseas employment. However, there are huge challenges in developing a
national strategy to integrate migration in the development initiatives envisaged in the 7th Five Year Plans and other
recent policy documents. In addition to these hosting the GFMD successfully in the end of this year in Dhaka will pave the
way of a new era for Bangladesh in the field of migration and development.

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The activities of the Ministry in Picture

On the occasion of International Migration Day 2015, a Seminar on “Sustainable Development Goals and Migration’ was organized in
the Ministry on 17 December 2015.

On the occasion of International Migration Day 2015, a rally was

organized on 18 December 2015. The rally was led by Hon’ble
Minister Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc.

The main program on the occasion of International Migration

Day 2015 was held in Bangabandhu International Conference
Centre (BICC), Dhaka.

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On the occasion of International Migration Day 2015, a Fair was

organized on 18 December 2015 in BICC. The Fair was inaugurated
by Hon’ble Chief Guest of the program.

H.E. Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh met Hon’ble

Minister over a Courtesy Call on 28 October 2015.

H.E. Ambassador of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh met

Hon’ble Minister over a Courtesy Call on 29 October 2015.

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Hon’ble Minister Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc, is distributing certificates

among the participants successfully completed ToT arranged
through City & Guilds on 20 October 2015.

Hon’ble Minister Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc is among the newly elected
non-gazetted Government employees samity at their reception
and installation ceremony on 21 December 2015.

Hon’ble Minister Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc is with the Secretary of the Ministry, Director General of BMET and other high officials on the
occasion of signing of the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) on 8 October 2015.

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Hon’ble Minister Mr. Nurul Islam, BSc with the Secretary of the
Ministry, Director General of BMET and other high officials are
paying homage to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman on his 40th Death Anniversary and National
Mourning Day on 15 August 2015.

Signing bilateral MoU with visiting Japanese delegation on 8 July 2015.

Holding bilateral meetings with visiting Malaysian Delegation on 3 November 2015.

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Holding Meeting in the Ministry with visiting Saudi Arabian Delegation on 14 May 2015.

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