Marking the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB) which works under the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has started giving incentive to female migrant workers.
As many as 70 workers, who recently returned home, received a Tk20,000 cheque each as financial assistance under the stimulus package for them by the board, read a press release issued on Wednesday. They are the first batch of beneficiaries.
Inaugurating the disbursement of the cheques at a programme in a Dhaka hotel, Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed said the financial aid was meant to help the female migrant workers become self-reliant.
“The sum can be invested in successful and profitable ventures,” he opined, adding that the 70 beneficiaries are among those who were shortlisted out of as many as 50,000 female migrant workers.
Primarily, some 3,000 female migrant workers will get the cheques.
The state-run Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB), the minister said, has already disbursed a Tk146 crore loan among the workers, who came back to Bangladesh due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for their rehabilitation.
Imran went on saying that measures were being taken for the migrant workers, marking Bangabandhu’s 100th birth anniversary and the golden jubilee of the country’s independence.
According to him, the government has plans to construct dormitories and briefing cetres nearby international airports, for the convenience of migrant workers.
“Also, measures have been taken for building a hospital and a diagnostic center dedicated to them, so they can avail healthcare services at lower costs,” he said.
Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, secretary of the ministry, in his speech, said they want the incentive, meant for the migrant workers’ self-employment and -reliance, to be used most carefully and in a planned way.
WEWB Director General Md Hamidur Rahman presided over the programme attended by the high officials of the ministry and the board.
