Growing trend in worker migration heralds another 'record breaking' year

A growing trend in the number of workers migrating from Bangladesh in the first quarter of this year makes recruiters hopeful that the country will break last year's record of sending workers abroad.

Along with the growth in the number of workers sent abroad per month, monthly remittance earnings also increased to $2 billion in March this year after six months.

The country sent around 3.23 lakh workers abroad in the first three months of this year – around 1.04 lakh in January, 1.09 in February, and 1.09 lakh in March. The monthly growth rate of migrating workers was 6.20% in January, 4.35% in February and 0.35% in March, according to the data from Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

Bangladesh sent 11.35 lakh workers abroad last year, which was a record, and if the current growth trend continues, the country will break that record this year, according to manpower recruiters.

Reopening of the Malaysian market was a catalyst behind the growth in recent months as the country attracted the second largest number of Bangladeshi workers in a single month after Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi Arabia recruited around 1.22 lakh (38%) workers till March this year, while Malaysia recruited 82,893 (26%). 

Infograph: TBS

Besides, increasing employment opportunities in South Korea, Japan, Italy and the UK also played a significant role in boosting workers' migration.

On average, the country sent 93,750 workers per month in 2022, while the number was around 70,000 in the pre-Covid period, according to BMET data.

Recruiting agencies say that Malaysia is a more preferable destination for Bangladeshi workers than Middle Eastern countries because of its comparatively better salary structure and weather conditions that are almost similar to Bangladesh's.

According to the Malaysian government's new salary structure, a newly recruited worker will get at least 1,500 Malaysian Ringgit (equivalent to Tk37,000) per month. 

The salary range for low-skilled or unskilled workers is between Tk25,000-30,000 in Saudi Arabia. 

Currently, Bangladeshi workers are getting recruited in all sectors in Malaysia, including plantations, agriculture, manufacturing, services, mining, construction and household services.

"Bangladeshi workers migrating to Saudi Arabia mainly work in the construction and cleaning sectors, and hotels and restaurants. Some semi-skilled workers like plumbers, electricians and drivers are also going there," Ali Haider Chowdhury, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), told TBS.

On allegations that many workers migrating to Saudi Arabia have not been getting work as per their contracts, he said, "The ratio of such migrants will not be more than 0.1% of the total number of Bangladeshi workers there. Basically, those who are going on the so-called 'free visa' with the help of their relatives are facing this problem."

Employment opportunities rising outside Middle East

Apart from Malaysia and the Middle Eastern countries, employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers have been increasing in South Korea, Japan, and a number of European countries, including the UK and Italy this year compared to previous years.

South Korea recruited 1,698 workers in the last three months. It hired 5,910 altogether last year.   

The UK recruited 942 Bangladeshi workers last year, while it hired 871 workers in the first three months of this year alone.

The UK is mainly hiring different professionals like doctors, engineers, and IT professionals from Bangladesh, while Italy is hiring seasonal agricultural workers, said Sirajul Amin, CEO of Infinity HCM, one of the agencies that send workers to Europe.

In addition to these two countries, some workers have been migrating to Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Malta and Albania every month, he added.

Japan, a labour market seeking highly skilled labourers, recruited 193 workers from Bangladesh in the first three months of this year. The BMET expects the number to go beyond 1,000 this year.   

In 2022, the country sent 508 workers to Japan, which was the highest in a year, according to the BMET.

The expatriates' welfare and overseas employment ministry has announced a schedule of skill verification tests from February to September this year to recruit "Specified Skilled Workers (SSW)" in nursing, agriculture, building cleaning management and construction sectors in Japan.

The government last month fixed the cost of migrating to Japan at around Tk1.48 lakh to speed up the process of sending workers there and to bring about transparency in financial transactions.

Remittance inflow rises 

Despite an increase in the number of migrant workers, remittance inflow was comparatively low for a period of time last year. The monthly remittance inflow was below $2 billion for six months since September last year after the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (Bafeda) reduced the remittance rate to Tk107.

Later, the monthly remittance inflow increased to $2 billion in March this year as banks started offering Tk117 per dollar, said industry insiders.

Data from the Bangladesh Bank show that remittance inflow through the banking channel rose by 29.29% in March from $1.5 billion in the previous month.

Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis touched a seven-month high at $2.5 billion in March this year apparently due to Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr, as a report on Geo news noted on 10 April.

Moreover, remittance inflows remained comparatively high as non-resident Pakistanis used legal channels to send funds to their families due to the shrinking gap between rates in the interbank and open market, said the report.