Exclusive interview: Hassan Imam Shaon
The Migrant Dilemma: Critical decisions, little information
Hassan Imam Shaon is a development practitioner with 29 years of experience in migration, CTIP, and public health. He is the Managing Director of DEVCOM Ltd. Hassan has worked extensively as a consultant with the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies, donor organisations, and leading NGOs, including IOM, ILO, SDC, UNDP, UN Women, CARE Bangladesh, World Vision, Save the Children, Winrock International and others. He is the former Programme Head of BRAC Migration Programme. He recently spoke with Prothom Alo English Online on various issues on labour migration. Rabiul Islam took the interview.
What do we understand by pre-decision in labour migration?
Hassan Imam Shaon: The pre-decision stage is the first of the four stages of labour migration- pre-decision, pre-departure, post-arrival and return & reintegration. This stage begins when a person is considering whether to migrate for work but has not yet made a final decision.
At this point, an aspirant migrant needs complete and accurate information to decide responsibly. This includes information about the destination country, type of job, salary and benefits, migration procedures, costs involved, and the overall advantages or risks of migrating. When migrants receive correct information from reliable sources, such as one-to-one counseling or pre-decision orientation, they can make an informed decision.
To support this, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has developed the Comprehensive Information and Orientation Programme (CIOP), which provides guidance for all four migration stages. Under CIOP, the Pre-Employment Orientation (PEO) guideline helps countries design Pre-Decision Making Orientation (PDMO) programmes. These programmes ensure that potential migrants understand all key aspects of migration before deciding to go abroad.
Is this (pre-decision orientation) happening in Bangladesh? Who is doing it?
Hassan Imam Shaon: Pre-decision orientation or PDMO has been implemented in Bangladesh for more than a decade, mainly through NGOs with support from development partners. Since around 2011–2012, organizations such as BRAC, RMMRU, OKUP, WARBE, BOMSA, BNSK and some other NGOs have conducted pre-decision orientation sessions for aspirant migrants.
Embassy of Switzerland, Helvetas, Winrock International also supported the NGOs to implement pre-decision orientation, may be. However, these initiatives currently operate on a limited scale, as NGO programmes depend heavily on donor funding and therefore have restricted coverage.
At present, the Government of Bangladesh, particularly the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), is taking steps to institutionalize PDMO. They are developing and adapting a national PDMO module with technical support from IOM and are planning to pilot the programme. This is a positive development, as a government-led initiative can ensure wider and more sustainable coverage so that all potential migrants receive accurate and timely information before making their migration decisions.
How do aspirant migrants actually take decisions in Bangladesh?
Hassan Imam Shaon: In Bangladesh, most aspirant migrants make their migration decisions with very limited and often unreliable information. Since NGO-led pre-decision orientation covers only a small portion of the nearly one million people who migrate each year, the majority of aspirant migrants depend heavily on middlemen (dalals) or on information from friends and relatives at home or abroad.
In practice, middlemen often provide partial, misleading or even false information, and they tend to dominate and influence the decision-making process. Because migrants and their families rarely have direct access to recruiting agencies or foreign employers at the pre-decision stage, they rely on these intermediaries and end up paying large sums of money. This leads to very high migration costs, widespread fraud, delays in receiving contracts, and in many cases migrants discover upon arrival that their contract is different or no longer valid.
As a result, migration from Bangladesh has become one of the most expensive in the world. For many migrants going abroad on a two-year contract, the migration cost is so high that they struggle to recover their investment.
Is there any mechanism under the government and the private sector to inform migrants about the prospect of work in destination countries?
Hassan Imam Shaon: Yes, both the government and the private sector have mechanisms, and opportunities to provide information to aspirant migrants about job prospects in destination countries.
First, the private sector, mainly the recruiting agencies, plays an important role. They handle the entire recruitment process, including documentation, and maintain control over middlemen. If recruiting agencies adopt a strong monitoring system, they can ensure that middlemen deliver accurate information to migrants. Since migrants must visit recruiting agencies for paperwork, these agencies can also verify and correct any misleading information the migrants received earlier from intermediaries.
Second, the government’s role is critical. Although the government currently provides Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO), this usually happens after the migrant has already taken the decision to migrate, which is too late. Therefore, information should reach potential migrants earlier, at the pre-decision stage.
The MoEWOE operates District Employment and Manpower Offices (DEMOs) across most districts. If DEMOs collaborate with local government institutions such as Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads, they can deliver pre-decision information at the grassroots level. DEMO or BMET can provide the technical information such as job prospects, working conditions, risks and benefits, and local government bodies can help communicate this to communities.
Such collaboration would ensure that migrants receive accurate and timely information before making their migration decisions.
What are the benefits of pre-decision orientation?
Hassan Imam Shaon: Pre-decision orientation empowers aspirant migrants by giving them accurate, essential information before they decide to migrate. When migrants understand the true migration costs, such as passport fees, medical tests, visa costs, plane fare and agency charges, they can negotiate better with middlemen and avoid unnecessary expenses or fraud.
Knowing about the contract terms, salary, working conditions and benefits also enables migrants to conduct a proper cost–benefit analysis. For example, if a migrant receives a two-year contract with a monthly salary of Tk 30,000, the total expected income is Tk 720,000. With this information, he or she can calculate the potential profit after deducting all migration-related costs and other costs in the countries of destiations.
Overall, pre-decision orientation helps migrants make informed, realistic and financially sound decisions, reducing the chances of exploitation and financial loss.
What is your suggestion to ensure safe migration?
Hassan Imam Shaon: To ensure safe migration, several coordinated actions are necessary at the community, government and private-sector levels. First, potential migrants must receive accurate information at the pre-decision stage. A nationwide Pre-Decision Making Orientation (PDMO) programme should be introduced through DEMO offices and local government so that every aspirant migrant understands true migration costs, job conditions, legal processes and risks before deciding. Also, the government should strengthen the regulation and monitoring of recruiting agencies and middlemen.
Strict enforcement of licensing rules, digital tracking of recruitment processes and penalising fraudulent practices can reduce exploitation and high migration costs. Recruitment information, such as approved job contracts, salaries and agency fees, should be made publicly available. In fact, coordination among MoEWOE, BMET, DEMO offices, local government and development partners should be strengthened so that migrants receive support at every stage- pre-decision, pre-departure, post-arrival and return.
What is your suggestion to implement the pre-decision orientation programme?
Hassan Imam Shaon: To effectively implement the pre-decision orientation programme (PDMO), both government and non-government organizations must work together at the grassroots level. Local government institutions must be included in this process, there is no alternative- because they are closest to the communities and can mobilize large numbers of potential migrants.
PDMO sessions can be designed as one-day programmes, but strong community-level campaigning is necessary so that aspirant migrants become aware and motivated to participate. Key government institutions such as the District Employment and Manpower Offices (DEMOs) and Technical Training Centres (TTCs) should be heavily involved and serve as facilitators of the programme.
In terms of content and delivery, the orientation should follow an adult learning approach and be participatory, practical and engaging. This ensures that participants understand clearly, enjoy the sessions and internalize key messages. Such an approach is essential for changing the mindset and decision-making behaviour of aspirant migrant workers.
Thank you
Hassan Imam Shaon: Thank you too