Govt mulls safe houses in ME

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The government has decided in principle to set up safe houses in the Middle Eastern countries, making basic training mandatory for women aspiring to work in these countries as domestic aides.

It has also been decided that from now on no individuals can process their visas or demand letters and other documents themselves; recruiting agencies of Bangladesh and labourer receiving countries will do it for them. As a result, the domestic aides, if undergo any trouble overseas, can be identified and the agencies will be held accountable.

These rules were set in a guideline prepared by the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment following allegations of fraud and exploitation. There are allegations that female workers are often subject to fraud and exploitation by brokers and human smugglers at home and by employers abroad.

A gazette notification on the guideline issued and taking effect on September 1 was distributed to the Bangladesh missions in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Manama, Doha and Amman, and to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).

“The safe houses will be set up in favourable places on the basis of demand and the Bangladesh missions will receive fees for its establishment and maintenance while attesting work permits or visa advices,” the guideline says.

Aspirant migrants must undergo a 15-day training programme either at the BMET training institute or under recruiting agencies’ own arrangement on modern household work and basic skill in language and culture of the labourer receiving countries. They must sit for a BMET test for assessment of their skill, the guideline notes.

The women workers must be at least 25 years old, it says, adding that employer’s name, full address, nature of work, salary and other benefits recognised by the labourer laws of the respective countries should be mentioned in the visa advices or work permits.

The Bangladesh missions concerned have to attest the employment documents of the workers as well as the contracts made obligatorily between the recruiting agencies of Bangladesh and labourer receiving countries regarding export of domestic workers.

Recruiting agencies willing to send female domestic workers to the Middle Eastern countries must deposit Tk 15 lakh to the government as guarantee money. They will also provide the workers with a Bangla version of the contract letters before they fly.

The BMET will issue emigration clearances to the workers on the basis of the expatriates’ welfare ministry’s approval, which the ministry will do only when the recruiting agencies follow the required conditions.

Once emigration clearances are issued, the BMET will inform the names of the aspirant migrants and their employers and other important information to the concerned Bangladesh mission, the gazette adds.

It further says representatives of the concerned recruiting agencies must be present at the airport while the workers depart and provide information on the workers’ departure to the BMET welfare desk at airport.

The Bangladesh missions will ensure arrival of the workers at their workplaces within the highest one-month period and inform the BMET and the ministry in Bangladesh, the guideline points out.

“The workers themselves will bear the costs of passport issuance and medical tests, but travel taxes and other expenses will be borne by the concerned recruiting agencies,” it says. The agencies may bill the aspirant female domestic workers up to Tk 20,000 for service charges.

The government in the last quarter of 2005 made a guideline entrusting Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) to take the responsibility on behalf of the recruiting agencies to ensure protection of the female migrant domestic workers in the Middle East.

The BAIRA however did not pay heed to the issue, leaving domestic female workers’ migration in a disorganised state.

Experts believe international migration of the female workers can reap substantial benefits compared to those of the unskilled male migration.

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