It is very good news that Saudi Arabia is lifting its ban on hiring workers from Bangladesh. This has the potential to open up further doors for a good number of skilled and unskilled individuals to go to this Persian gulf country and earn more foreign remittance for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia officially established diplomatic relationships in 1975-76. In the late 70s, a good number Bangladeshi workers started to go to Saudi Arabia for employment. Currently, Saudi Arabia employs about 1.3 million Bangladeshi migrant workers, who bring in approximately $3.7 billion a year in remittances.
Saudi Arabia increasingly became dependent on foreign labour with the oil price boom in 1973. Although a good number of Bangladeshis remain employed in technical fields, most are now working in construction, cleaning, domestic services, and agriculture.
Unfortunately, there have been complaints about Bangladeshi workers from Saudi employers: A Saudi restaurant owner, Abdul Ruhman Shuqair, hired two Bangladeshi workers who caused trouble with food inspectors of that municipality. After that incident, Mr Shuqair said he would never hire Bangladeshi workers again.
A construction-business owner named Ahmed Nabil laid off all of his Bangladeshi employees because they were inefficient and slow -- some of them were also stealing construction material, apparently.
The director of HR of a private Saudi company said a Bangladeshi driver was fired from his company because he had been using the car for personal affairs.
Eight Bangladeshi nationals were publicly beheaded in 2011 for robbing a warehouse and killing a security guard. These are some of the reasons Saudi Arabia put a ban on Bangladeshi labour in the first place.
Many have to work very hard for three to four years, and if they want to come to Bangladesh to see their family, they have to wait about four to five years, as the process involves a lot of palms being greased
On the flip-side, Bangladeshi employees continue to get exploited, deprived of human rights, and treated like garbage in Saudi Arabia.
A good amount of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia are not being paid their dues, and the less said about benefits the better. For food and other expenses, an individual needs at least 500 Saudi Riyal per month, but most Bangladeshi workers are paid about 600, not leaving much to send back home.
To recoup all the associated costs of making the “worker’s pilgrimage,” many of them have to work very hard for three to four years, and if they want to come to Bangladesh to see their family, they have to wait about four to five years, as the process involves a lot of palms being greased and a lot of groveling at employers’ feet.
Away from home and family for a long time, some of them get both physically and mentally exhausted and frustrated. In some cases, financial crisis and exploitation at the hands of employers drive them into a life of crime.
We need to get to the root of this matter.
The Labour Ministry and the High Commission of Bangladesh need to work together with Saudi Arabia’s relevant administration in order to increase the salaries and benefits for Bangladeshi workers and improve the employee-employer relationship through awareness and training.
The incumbent government has already taken certain steps to improve our nation’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, and some positive results are starting to pour in. Our labour force there should create their own demand through marketable skills, proper workplace etiquette, and, regrettably, some adjustment to their attitudes. They should always have a positive and “can do” attitude, and remember they are representatives of their country.
If they can impress their employers through productivity and good behaviour, in return they stand to earn raises, benefits, and vacations for themselves.
In Bangladesh, there is a severe lack of training institutions which can train our labour force for foreign labour markets. We need to realise that there are no substitutes for training and education.
Abdul Baten is Assistant Professor, School of Business at ULAB.
