Bangladesh has planned to send 800,000 more workers for overseas jobs this year to ensure a good remittance inflow, a senior minister said on Sunday.
“The main objective of sending workers abroad is to continue the present trend of overseas employment as well as attaining the government’s target of sustainable development goals (SDGs),” Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam told reporters in Dhaka.
A total of 756,000 Bangladeshi nationals were sent to different countries in the previous year. Of them 189,000 were destined to Oman while 144,000 to Saudi Arabia, the minister added.
Nearly 10.3 million Bangladeshi workers are engaged in different sectors in 162 countries. Bangladesh earns remittance worth about 15 billion US dollars per year through manpower export.
The government has a plan to find out new labour markets as well as open new labour wings at Bangladeshi missions abroad, where a significant number of Bangladeshi workers are employed, for ensuring their welfare, the minister said.
He said Bangladesh is helping develop workers skills in 48 different trades so that the workers get appropriate jobs in overseas markets.
“We are also constructing 40 training centres for improvement of workers’ skills,” Islam told a press conference to brief about the last year’s performance of his ministry.
The expatriates’ welfare minister said an overseas friend call center (+09654 333 333) has also been set up so Bangladeshi migrants workers from their respective destinations can directly informed the Bangladesh government of their problem and complaints.
Bangladeshi workers who are living in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Oman and Malaysia have been getting this service directly from September, 1, 2016. This service would be given in other countries in phases, he said.
SOURCE: News Next Bangladesh
