Sixty seven per cent of the migrant workers, who were forced to return to the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus, had returned empty handed. They are now having difficulty in covering their monthly expenses due to declining income. Earlier, the average expenditure of a worker’s family was Tk 17,000 per month. But the expenses have decreased to Tk 7,300 in the time of the pandemic. Families of 60 per cent of the returning male workers and 38 per cent of the female workers are now in debt.
The e-book titled 'The Other Face of Mobilisation, COVID-19, International Labour Migrants and Left Behind Families in Bangladesh' depicts the overall situation of the returning migrant workers and their families. The e-book interviewed a total of 250 people, including 100 workers and their family members from 21 districts who were forced to return from abroad. The e-book was jointly published by the Refugee and Migration Movement Research Unit (RMMRU) and the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM). The book was officially launched by Prof Hossain Zillur Rahman, an advisor to the former caretaker government, at a webinar on Wednesday.
In the webinar, Hossain Zillur Rahman said that the returning migrant workers or the workers who were forced to return need to be employed in various activities of the government considering their expertise.
RMMRU's executive director CR Abrar made the opening address at the webinar. The organisation's founding chairman, Tasneem Siddiqui, moderated the event. She said remittances had increased in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, while data from workers' families showed that 61 per cent of the families had not received any money. Women who have worked as domestic workers abroad have lost fewer jobs due to the high demand in the pandemic situation.
Also attending the event were Shamim Haider Patwari, chairman of the Parliamentary Caucus on Immigration and Development, Motahar Hossain, the additional secretary of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, Jerry Fox, the team leader of British Council’s publication project, Ignacio Packer, the executive director of the ICVA, Imtiaz Hossain, the chief professor of Global Studies and Governance Programme, Colin Rajah, coordinator of the Civil Society Action Committee, Shariful Hasan, the head of immigration programme of BRAC, and others.