18 November 2014, The Daily Star
Migration experts and development activists yesterday laid emphasis on strong coordination among government and recruiting agencies and employers to ensure female migrants’ rights.
A section of Bangladeshi female migrants everyday face different forms of workplace abuse, primarily physical and sexual, and are exploited either by employers or recruiting agents, they observed.
Labour attachés at Bangladesh missions are responsible for addressing the problems with government agencies concerned of the destination countries and there is no alternative to them in maintaining an effective system to deal with the issues, they added.
The discussants were addressing a dialogue, “Labour Attachés: The Protectors of Female Migrants in the Middle East”, jointly organised by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban in Dhaka University.
Stating that the most neglected sector is that of manpower, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the sending country must negotiate with the receiving country to protect migrants from exploitation.
“It is a matter of national interest that the migrants be protected as, at the end of the day, they are contributing to the country’s economy,” he added.