Bangladesh, being a major labour-exporting country, should raise its voice to realise
the unpaid dues of the country's migrant workers, many of whom have been
repatriated arbitrarily in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, migration experts and
advocacy groups said today.
A global campaign called "wage theft" has been taking shape for quite some time, they
said during a webinar, suggesting Bangladesh to have comprehensive documentation on
migrant workers' grievances.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) organised the webinar on
"The other face of globalisation: Arbitrary return of Bangladeshi migrants and their
unpaid dues".
The webinar was the first of a series of similar events, said organisers.
Migration expert Prof CR Abrar said civil 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.