Migrant workers demand special allocation in upcoming budget

Around 400 migrant workers, coming from different districts of the country, have demanded that the government allot a sufficient amount of fund for their welfare and rights in the upcoming national budget. The migrant workers voiced their demand on Thursday during a national dialogue on national budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year organised by Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) at CIRDAP International Conference Centre in Dhaka. They said the government should allot a significant amount of money to facilitate them with a zero or low-cost migration as more than 10 million Bangladeshis are currently working abroad, playing a significant role in the country's economy. OKUP Chairman Shakirul Islam said the average allocation for the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment over the last three fiscal years was 0.17% of the total budget. “But contribution of migrant workers to the GDP has been 8.40% and 7.65% in the FY 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, whereas the government’s budget for the ministry was 0.22% and 0.15% in the same years,” he said. He also urged the government to increase the allocated amount for migrant workers in the next budget and keep a budget to increase consciousness among aspiring migrants to avoid the middlemen. The migrants also pointed out that most of them had to sell off their properties to go abroad, so the government should keep an option for easy loans. Dhaka University Prof CR Abrar urged the government to allot a budget allocating at least 2% of the total budget for the ministry concerned and the migrant workers. Speaking as chief guest, lawmaker Nurjahan Begum said: “If we want to achieve the SDGs, we have to give more importance to the migrants. “I promise to urge the government in my budget speech to allocate more money for migrant workers.”