The government is to provide a magnetic chip card to
all migrant workers going abroad for work as part of new initiatives to
ensure their security and rights while working abroad
Director General of the Bureau of Manpower
Employment and Training (BMET) Mohammad Abdul Malek yesterday said that the
card is being developed under a six-month project undertaken by the
government recently.
Each card will contain data about the worker,
including details of the recruiting agency through which he secured the job
contract, and this information would make it easier for them to get legal or
social support abroad.
Speaking at a dialogue at the BIAM auditorium in the
city, Malek said the magnetic card would make the process of migration
smoother and more secure
The follow up dialogue on 'Global Forum on Migration
and Development (GFMD) and Implementation of the Bangladesh Overseas
Employment Policy (BOEP)' was organised by WARBE Development Foundation.
Speakers at the event said that though the BOEP was
prepared in 2006, it is yet to be implemented in the country. Migration is
still regulated under the Emigration Ordinance of 1982 that leaves workers
much unprotected, they said.
They stressed the need for a plan of action for
implementation of BOEP and more awareness regarding migration process.
"The government has recently adopted a nine-point
strategy to ensure safe migration that include exploration of new markets
for overseas employment," BMET director Dr Muhammad Nurul Islam said.
The strategies include special focus on export of
female workers. Also, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed
with six countries to protect workers' rights.
Sheepa Hafiza of BRAC said that Bangladesh should
consider GFMD as a programme and that policy orientations should reach
upazila and district level people.
Rina Roy, director of Manusher Jonno Foundation,
stressed the need for networking among migrant workers in different
countries. She also emphasised the need to strengthen coordination between
the expatriate welfare ministry and foreign affairs ministry and to bring
the migrant workers' issues under the trade union movement.
Syed Saiful Haque of WARBE chaired the dialogue
where representatives from different organisations working on migration
issues were also present.
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