Countries must look after their migrant workers

Sixteen Bangladeshi civil society organisations have urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres to request host countries to put a hold on their plans to deport undocumented and imprisoned migrant workers, according to a report in this daily yesterday. Origin countries of migrant workers, such as Bangladesh, have also been put under undue pressure—which includes the threat of revision of labour relations—if they do not submit to these plans. At a time when the entire world is reeling from the shock of a pandemic, with developing countries and countries with weak public health systems shouldering the greatest burden—such demands from host countries, especially the wealthy Gulf states, is nothing less than moral bankruptcy.  

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers clearly lays out that migrant workers are entitled to enjoy treatment not less favourable than other nationals of the state, and that they specifically have the right to receive medical care on the basis of equality of treatment. However, we have already seen reports of migrant workers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia—which includes Bangladeshi workers—being crammed into work camps, losing their jobs and facing high rates of infection, with no way home and no way of continuing to provide for their families. The Bangladesh government has said that migrant workers will be brought home once the lockdown ends, but for now, they are stuck in limbo, with no assurances from their host or origin countries.

There are an estimated 10 million Bangladeshis currently working abroad, who send billions of dollars in remittances back to Bangladesh every year. Our government has a responsibility to ensure the safety of these workers as well as their families. Rights groups have urged the government to create an emergency fund for migrant workers, which would include interest-free loans for their families in Bangladesh. However, rather than responding to these requests, the government has requested OIC member states to retain the jobs of migrant workers and create a "voluntary fund" to fight coronavirus. The expatriates' welfare ministry has also made the rather insensitive announcement of Tk 3 lakh compensation for the families of workers abroad who will die from coronavirus, without detailing any plans of how they will fight the virus and survive.

We urgently request the government to speak for and support our migrant workers, engaging in all levels of diplomacy with host countries as well as international organisations to protect our workers from the threat of deportation and create a safe environment for them abroad, and depending on their choice, to facilitate their safe return home.