Rights activists on Tuesday urged stronger collaboration among the government agencies involved in labour migration and service delivery in destination countries.
The call came at a discussion titled 鈥楳ulti-stakeholder consultation on key functions and services of MOEWOE, BMET and WEWB for enhanced coordination and efficiency鈥� held at hotel InterContinental Dhaka in the capital.
The event was organised by development body WARBE Development Foundation in partnership with the International Labour Organisation and supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh.
Speakers at the programme alleged that the Wage Earners鈥� Welfare Board, which manages a fund generated from migrant workers鈥� contributions, was misusing the money kept for administrative purposes instead of prioritising workers鈥� welfare.
They also alleged that the board, dominated by bureaucrats, was operating without sufficient accountability.
WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque said that four agencies under the Ministry of Expatriates鈥� Welfare and Overseas Employment often overlapped in their roles, leaving critical areas neglected.
Such overlapping made workers particularly vulnerable when they faced problems abroad, he further alleged.
The ministry鈥檚 policy adviser, Zia Hasan, acknowledged that laws and policies in recent years had been designed to empower bureaucrats rather than the people.
鈥榃e are working to make the law and rules more friendly towards people and businesses,鈥� he said, stressing the importance of creating special wings abroad to protect workers.
He also suggested that the welfare fund could be used for research and market exploration.
Trade union leader and Labour Reform Commission member Shakil Akhter Chowdhury opposed this idea and demanded that such responsibilities must be covered by allocations from the national revenue budget.
ILO national project manager Rahnuma Salam Khan reminded that the ministry鈥檚 primary duty was expatriate welfare after which came overseas employment.
鈥榃hy shouldn鈥檛 the ministry explore the market itself?鈥� she asked.
Former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies Shameem Ahmed Chowdhury Noman said that recruiting agencies were often unfairly blamed when migration failed, while other government agencies also shared responsibility.
Having criticised the government for not responding strongly when employers abroad mistreated Bangladeshi workers, he called for greater government contributions to the Wage Earners鈥� Welfare Board fund.
Speakers also demanded a unified migrant worker database and pre-departure orientation for potential migrants.
Foreign ministry director general Md Toufiq-ur-Rahman, WARBE Development Foundation director Jasiya Khatoon, Film4Peace Foundation chair Sheepa Hafiza, and Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training director Masud Rana also addressed the event.
