7/11/2020
‘Bangladesh should raise voice to realise unpaid dues of its migrant workers’ – South Asians News Portal
societies across Asia vehemently started
raising their voice against the “wage theft”
campaign.
“We need to be part of it,” he said, terming the
unpaid dues of migrant workers as “lost
remittance”.
William Gois, coordinator of the Migrant
Forum in Asia, a regional civil society group,
said it is unfortunate that the states were not
documenting the learnings of the Covid-19
pandemic.
As countries of origin begin the repatriation
processes, it is important that they document
grievances of the repatriated migrant workers,
he said.
RMMRU Chair Prof Tasneem Siddiqui said
recently they, along with Manusher Jonno
Foundation (MJF), had interviewed 50
migrants who returned from Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Malaysia
because of the pandemic.
Those who returned from Saudi Arabia, UAE
and Qatar alleged that they had unpaid dues
ranging from Tk 9,500 to Tk 5 lakh, she said,
presenting the outcome of the survey.
Prof Tasneem said 39 out of the 50 respondents
said they were picked up by police during the
pandemic and later repatriated.
Five migrants returned voluntarily, while
three others returned on leave and three with
help from their employers, she said.
Rights activist Aroma Dutta, also a lawmaker
from the reserved seat of the parliament, said
a formal letter from the ministries concerned
should be issued regarding workers’ unpaid
wages, especially addressing “lost remittance”
and a previous proposal of six months’ wage
https://southasiansnews.com/2020/06/22/bangladesh-should-raise-voice-to-realise-unpaid-dues-of-its-migrant-workers/?fbclid=IwAR25rNubRnSsWU…
3/5