Welcome MOU between UAE and Bangladesh

Apart from falling prey to machinations of fraudulent recruiters thereby losing their last penny, our workers overseas have often been subjected to harassment by individual recruiting agencies both at home and abroad. They would land on jobs they had not contracted for with the terms and conditions of service deviating from what they were given to understand before departing from their home country.

It is high time we streamline the manpower trade sector as a whole with the cooperation of the host countries who have as much a stake in it perhaps as we. We have to address the problem of illegal immigrants. It may not be out of place to mention that of the 70,000 workers currently employed in the UAE about 16,000 are said to be staying there illegally.

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Let us not forget that Bangladeshi wage earners abroad happen to be the largest contributor to our foreign exchange reserves. They are also contributing significantly to the economy of the host countries. So, it's a both way traffic that must be made the most of.

We suggest that following this MOU, the government should seriously consider forging similar understanding with other countries where there is a concentration of Bangladeshi workers.