The first batch of 11 skilled female migrant workers flew to Hong Kong on a Dragon Airlines flight last night, the assistant director of the expatriates’ welfare desk at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Md Zahedul Islam, confirmed.
The workers have received three months’ training at Keraniganj Technical Training Centre in Cantonese and English, Chinese cooking, operating washing machines and ironing, said bureau of manpower, employment and training (BMET) director, Nurul Islam.
“We have learned to speak Cantonese and English, and also learned Chinese cooking, operating washing machines and other household tasks,” Moushumi Aktar, one of the migrants, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Every female worker will get a monthly wage of Tk40,400, with her accommodation and food costs are free.
The migrant workers are being sent following an agreement between the BMET and Technic Employment Services, a Hong Kong-based recruiting agency, under a public-private partnership.
According to the agreement, workers would initially be recruited for two years, with the contract renewable for three more years.
According to BMET officials, a migrant worker has to pay Tk20,000 to the private recruiting agency in service charge, including manpower clearance and government tax, while the Hong Kong-based recruiting agency is taking Tk104,000 from each female worker.
Officials added that this amount includes airfare, and training in Bangladesh and Hong Kong. The workers were paying the Hong Kong recruiting agency from loans taken from the Probashi Kallyan Bank, the instalments for which will be deducted from their wages over nine months, they said.
