Expatriates' welfare ministry on Thursday launched the distribution of financial grant to Saudi-bound workers for meeting a portion of their hotel quarantine cost.
Each of the workers will get Tk 25,000 for paying their seven-day on-arrival institutional quarantine charge. Both old and fresh workers will avail the money to meet the expenses in the gulf nation.
Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmad formally inaugurated the programme at Probashi Kallyan Bhaban in the city.
The workers must carry smart cards of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) or be enlisted with the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB).
The WEWB will provide the aid. It operates a fund that has been set up with migrant workers' welfare fees.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) earlier announced that travellers from foreign countries would require following mandatory quarantine once they reach there from May 20. As instructed, those who took Covid-19 vaccines need not any quarantine.
As per the information available with travel agents, each worker will need Tk 65,000 to avail the quarantine facility.
However, Bangladesh has recently included the outbound workers included on the priority list to get the coronavirus jabs.
But manpower recruiters urged the government to vaccinate the workers with the vaccines endorsed by Saudi Arabia. The Arab country does not allow Chinese vaccine.
In this regard, the expatriates' welfare minister told the programme that they had taken a diplomatic initiative to talk to the Saudi authorities concerned so that they allow the Chinese vaccine that had been recognised by the World Health Organisation.
"We talked to foreign ministry and Bangladesh ambassador in Saudi Arabia about the matter," he mentioned.
The minister said his ministry had also discussed with the health ministry to import the Netherlands-based Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.
If needed, the expatriates' welfare ministry will bear the cost of single-dose vaccines, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, secretary of the expatriates' welfare ministry, said the migration sector had been facing challenges since Mach last year following the coronavirus pandemic.
"But we tried to respond to all problems quickly," he said.
Md Hamidur Rahman, director general (DG) of the Wage Earners' Welfare Board, said his organisation continued providing different services to migrant workers.
Besides, he said, it will take new projects in the coming days.
BMET DG Shahidul Alam, among others, was present at the programme.
