Editorial
Saudi ambassador's welcome assurances
Let the deeds on the ground match his words
IT is reassuring to hear from Saudi ambassador Dr Abdullah Bin Naser Al-Busairi that his country has not imposed any restrictions on hiring of Bangladeshi workers by Saudi companies. After this, we believe, the air would be cleared of the confusion created in the sequel to Saudi labour minister's reported announcement of a ban on recruitment of Bangladeshi workers in agriculture and household sectors.
The envoy has virtually taken words from our mouth by posing a question which is introspective enough: Why should 17 lakh Bangladeshis in Saudi kingdom be blamed for misdeeds of a minuscule number of workers?
The envoy's prescription, however, reads one-sided, we are constrained to say. He has blamed it, and to a certain extent we agree with him, on the fraudulent practices of some Bangladeshi recruitment agencies that lead to deprivation of the labourers. The need to streamline recruitment processes at our end is generally acknowledged by virtue of frequent newspaper reportage on the defrauding and pauperization of Bangladeshi job-seekers and the inhumane torture they face en route to or in the host countries. We have been harping on the point for an effective resolution of the problem and the government seems seized of it.
By entirely focussing on Bangladeshi recruitment agencies, the Saudi ambassador, we are sorry to say, has tended to overlook what also needs to be done in his country to stop occasional harassment of Bangladeshi workers by the police, breach of contract by Saudi companies including subjecting them to poor service conditions and under-payment of salary and benefits. We think the onus lies on authorities in the host country to track down the middlemen at its end who contribute to the increase in migration costs. Frankly, there is a feeling that Bangladeshi workers have been lately bandied about which may be construed as an insult to a fraternal country. We urge the Saudi envoy to take up the entire gamut of issues with his government having regard to the fact that Saudi Arabia has been one of the biggest recipients of Bangladeshi workers. Our labour is in Saudi Arabia not out of charity, but because they have been contributing signally to the Saudi economy's prosperity and development by the sweat of their brow and their skill. This is a two-way traffic and here give-and-take is the cornerstone of mutually beneficial relations between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh.
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