The government has increased the compensation money to Tk 2 lakh from Tk 1 lakh for the families of the expatriate Bangladeshi workers who die aboard.
The decision came at a time when the number of deaths of migrant workers abroad has been increasing in recent days.
“We raised the compensation money around two months ago considering the fact that prices of essentials have gone up,” Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said.
Though the decision has been taken two months back and no public announcement made in this regard, families of the deceased workers still claim Tk 1 lakh.
Talking to The Daily Star on Sunday, the minister said, “It does not matter. We will give them Tk 2 lakh.”
Families of the deceased migrant workers, who do not get any compensation from the employers of the labour receiving countries, are being provided with the compensation money.
Mosharraf said the matter of the families that spend a lot of money for migration of their family members and depend much on them must be taken care of. “This was behind the increase in compensation.”
Meanwhile, 1,034 bodies of Bangladeshi expatriates were brought back home from different countries during January 1 to May 23 this year, according to the sources at Zia International Airport (ZIA).
Of them, around 44 percent died of cardiac arrest, which has become a matter of concern and it raised questions about the working conditions of the workers abroad.
The number of bodies transported home in 2008 was 2,237, which had been 1,673 in 2007, 1,402 in 2006, 1,248 in 2005 and 788 in 2004.
Mosharraf said deaths of five to six persons a day out of 70 lakh Bangladeshis abroad are not abnormal.
“As bodies are now being brought home promptly and records are maintained, you have found the number increasing. Corpses were not brought home in the past and reports of death were not also maintained properly.”
“But deaths due to cardiac arrest at a young age may not be so usual. It may happen because of stress at work,” he said.
Mosharraf said the most crucial issue for the migrant workers is that they borrow money at high interest rates and pay high cost to go abroad that causes their tension.
“We are trying to make sure that overseas jobseekers do not need to sell land or borrow money to go abroad for jobs. Expatriates Bank, which is to open soon, will help solve their credit problems,” he said.
The government has strengthened the pre-briefing sessions before the workers leave home for overseas jobs and formed committees at thana levels to create mass awareness so that jobseekers do not pay money to the brokers, said the minister, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Asked if the government’s decision of increasing the compensation money for the families of the deceased migrant workers was announced officially, the minister said, “We take many decisions and cannot announce all at a time.”
Mentioning that some people have forged signatures to withdraw the compensation money, he said the issues should get more priority in media.
“I will also take immediate steps so that Bangladesh Television telecast public announcements on the do’s and don’ts for the overseas jobseekers to check cheating,” Mosharraf said.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economy, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News, Economy, News
