Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has recommended increasing surveillance to ensure that expatriate workers do not face any form of neglect or harassment upon returning home at the airport.
This recommendation was made at the first meeting of the 13th National Parliament Committee on Thursday. The meeting was held with Committee Chairman AKM Fazlul Haque Milon in the chair at National Parliament.
During the meeting, the scope of work and budget allocation of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment were reviewed.
The committee also recommended that officials work cautiously to prevent irregularities, corruption, and deviations in the overall operations of the ministry.
It was informed at the meeting that a total of 432,786 workers were sent to various countries across the world from 18 February to 30 September this year. Among them, the number of female workers was 36,590.
During the same period, remittance inflows to the country reached $24.75 billion, which was approximately $2.80 billion higher than the previous period, according to information provided at the meeting.
It was also informed at the meeting that amidst the war situation in the Middle East, a total of 186 people, including 12 women and eight children, were brought back home from Iran funded by Wage Earners’ Welfare Board.
The meeting was further informed that workers are sent abroad through government-approved private recruiting agents and Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL).
Currently, there are a total of 2,860 recruiting agencies in the country, of which 2,187 are active.
Committee members Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury, State Minister Md Nurul Haque, Golam Mohammad Siraj, Md Jasim Uddin, Rafiqul Islam Hilaly, Nasiruddin Ahmed, Md Anwarul Islam, and Abul Kawsar Mohammad Nazrul Islam attended the meeting.
Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, heads of various departments under the ministry, and relevant officials of the National Parliament Secretariat were present on the occasion.
