Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia will be able to transfer their residence permits or iqama from next week, allowing them to change their jobs too.
It would be a great opportunity for Bangladeshi workers there, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Md Shahidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune over telephone yesterday. The privilege had been suspended since 2008. “Our workers would be in trouble if a company shut down as they do not have permission to join another company,” he said.
The Saudi authorities had not specified any reason behind the suspension, which forced many Bangladeshi workers to leave the kingdom. Bangladesh Embassy officials believed that various crimes, including killings and stealing, committed by the workers might have led to the decision at the time.
They offered expatriate workers the chance to change employers only during an amnesty period from May 10 to November 3 last year.
Shahidul claimed that the image of Bangladeshi workers had now improved.
A senior official at the Bangladesh mission said the Saudi government would start large scale recruitment from Bangladesh soon.
Saudi Arabia decreased the number of workers recruited from Bangladesh in 2009, also without showing any reason.
According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, Saudi Arabia recruited 14,666 workers in 2009; 7,069 in 2010; 15,039 in 2011; 21,232 in 2012 and 12,654 last year. Previously, it recruited 132,124 Bangladeshi workers in 2008; 204,112 in 2007 and 109,513 in 2006.
