The visiting Saudi delegation on Monday requested the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training to put in place a government mechanism to protect the country’s workers seeking jobs abroad from being deceived, BMET officials said lter.
At a meeting with the BMET director general, the visiting delegation raised various queries relating to the process under which Bangladesh sends its workers abroad, thy said.
The meeting took place at the BMET conference room.
Saudi Arabia also wants to be sure that the official mechanism in Bangladesh would ensure proper recruitment of workers for foreign jobs, they said.
Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Hajja, a top official of Saudi interior ministry, led his country’s delegation.
At the 150-minute meeting, BMET director general Begum Shamsun Nahar led the Bangladesh side.
Senior BMET officials briefed the Saudi team about the online database of workers developed in Bangladesh, the recruitment process on government to government basis, issuance of bio-matrix card (smartcard) by Bangladesh government and pre-departure training centres.
Expatriate welfare and overseas employment ministry joint secretary Abu Hena Mostfa Kamal, who attended the meeting, told New Age on Monday that the Saudi officials mainly emphasized on cutting down the migration cost of Bangladeshi workers.
Higher migration costs lead the workers to create various ‘social problems’ in the destination countries, the Saudi officials told their Bangladesh counterparts, he said.
Saudi Arabia believes in freedom of the expatriate workers, the visiting officials said.
Bangladesh officials said that it would require each worker to bear the migration cost of Tk 20,000 as Saudi employers provide the airfare.
They said that the workers would be selected for jobs in Saudi Arabia and other countries from the government’s database either by a government agency or private recruiting agencies in Bangladesh.
They said that the introduction of the database of workers made the recruitment process in Bangladesh transparent.
Later, the Saudi officials saw the computerized database at BMET office.
They visited Bangladesh-Korea Technical Training Centre and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Technical Training Centre at Mirpur in the city.
The Saudi officials paid a courtesy call on foreign secretary Md Shahidul Haque at his office.
Saudi Arabia, a major destination for Bangladeshi workers, drastically cut down worker recruitment from Bangladesh since 2009, shows BMET documents.
BMET director general later said that the Saudi officials expressed their satisfaction over the meeting and also the modern system of recruitment in Bangladesh. (Source)
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