26/01/2021 Overworked, unpaid and abused, Bangladeshi women return from Middle East | Prothom Alo Asked about wage theft, Dr Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, the top o cial of the ministry, said that they would soon start communicating with the employers through Bangladesh missions at destinations to discuss and realize the unpaid wages of the migrants. Wage theft — non-payment for overtime, denying workers their last pay check after he or she leaves a job, not paying for all of the hours worked, not paying minimum wages — is a trend that often goes unreported. Since 1991, one million women migrants, 98 per cent of them domestic workers, have left Bangladesh for overseas destinations, according to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET). The remaining 2 per cent women migrants were mostly employed in the apparel factories abroad, BMET o cials said. Bangladeshi garment workers have also been a ected by COVID-19 as many of them returned home jobless amid pandemic. “ Bangladeshi workers have gone to work abroad following international rules and regulations. So they cannot be arbitrarily deported or deprived of their due wages. They should be duly compensated if their jobs are terminated arbitrarily. Dr Abrar, executive director, RMMRU About 1000 garment workers of Bangladesh were recently sent back home from Jordan. On June 30, Taposi Khatun, a 22-year-old Bangladeshi apparel worker, returned from Jordan by special ight. She was employed in Sydney Apparel factory in Jordan as an operator. Without extending renewal of work permit, the management sent her back home. “Amid corona pandemic, the management terminated my job along with many other workers,” said Taposi who comes from Sonatola of Bogra district. She said that she was very upset about losing her job at this time as her monthly earning of BDT 30,000 (USD 350) stopped totally. Migration researchers and migrants’ rights activists said that they have frequently found the cases of wage-theft committed by the employers, forcing the women domestic and apparel workers from destinations amid the COVID pandemic. https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/overworked-unpaid-and-abused-bangladeshi-women-return-from-middle-east 4/8