BANGLADESHI foreign missions to be stronger to help workers

Bangladeshi missions abroad are not proactive in serving their
workers' interests in the respective countries, Expatriates' Welfare
and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told
the House yesterday. He said his ministry has decided to increase the
number of labour attachés and social welfare officials in the foreign
missions to assist Bangladeshi workers. "We have already asked
Bangladeshi workers abroad to form welfare associations and
communicate with the local embassies there if they face any
problems," the minister said replying to some lawmakers' queries. He
said manpower export to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait is on a
downward curve because of the global financial meltdown. Mosharraf
said 342 ,409 workers went to different countries in the last eight
months between January and August 2009 , while the total number is
650 ,059 between July 2008 and August 2009. The minister said
another 250 ,000 workers are likely to go to the United Arab
Emirates, Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Romania and some
other countries in the current year. Bangladesh received remittance
worth Tk 66 , 674 crore during the period between July 2008 and
August 2009 , he said. He informed the Parliament that steps have
been taken to expand the labour market. Mosharraf, also labour and
employment minister, in scripted answer to a query, said the
government has formulated a draft policy to eliminate child labour,
and the next course of action in this regard will be taken soon. He
said the existing law also does not permit engaging a child aged
below 14 with an organisation. The existing law also does not allow
engaging children in hazardous labour, the minister said. The law has
provision of taking action against employers of child labourers and
guardians who engage their children in hazardous labour. "The
government is determined to formulate a national policy and implement
it to eliminate hazardous child labour," the minister said.