Saturday, July 11, 2020
Employers must compensate returned migrant workers
Diplomatic Correspondent | Published at 01:20am on June 23, 2020
The government should take immediate steps to ensure that the foreign governments and
employers pay compensation to Bangladeshi workers who were forced to return home during
COVID-19 pandemic, said several members of the parliament and NGO activists on Monday.
They were addressing an online discussion and report lunching programme of Refugee and
Migratory Movements Research Unit.
RMMRU chairperson Tasneem Siddiqui presented a report on the state of recently returned workers
based on a survey conducted among 50 Bangladeshi workers. RMMRU executive director CR Abrar
conducted the session.
Aroma Dutta MP said that the government should lobby with the governments of worker recipient
countries for realising compensation of the returnee workers.
Shirin Akhter MP said the government should make arrangements so that the returnee workers can
get back their jobs abroad.
RMMRU said, with reference to the research, that many expatriate workers were randomly picked up
and forced to leave the country where they were working without any criminal records.
Most of the returnee workers did not get retirement benefits and compensation for forced leaving of
the country of their workplaces, it said.
Shahin Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, said that comprehensive and
simultaneous steps must be taken for ensuring safety of the lives and security of the their livelihood
of Bangladesh citizens at home and abroad.
Expatriate welfare ministry Ahmed Munirus Salehin said the government would take comprehensive
measures for reemployment of returnee workers at home and abroad.