The coronavirus pandemic took a heavy toll on the country's overseas employment sector in the outgoing calendar year (2020), as a large number of Bangladeshi workers lost their jobs.
On the other hand, thousands of aspirants, who were in the pipeline for going abroad with employment, failed to depart the country due to the Covid-19 outbreak across the globe.
Such a volatile situation will impact the country's remittance earnings in the coming years, experts and sector insiders observed.
Statistics released by Expatriates' Welfare Desk at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital showed that a total of 326,758 jobless workers came back home from 29 countries from April 01 to November 30 of this year. Arrival of such workers from different countries is still continuing.
Besides, nearly 150,000 workers came home 'on leave' from various countries including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore and the Maldives. But they could not go back to their workplaces due to Iqama (work permit) and air ticket-related complications.
Migration expert Professor Tasneem Siddiqui said the overseas employment sector is passing through a hard time.
Every year 600,000 to 700,000 Bangladeshi workers go abroad with jobs. But this year less than 200,000 workers could go abroad. So, about 500,000 workers failed to go to their job destination countries because of the pandemic.
So, naturally the income of remittance will be impacted following the drastic fall in workers' outflow, said Ms Siddiqui, who is also the founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).
But the scenario may change, if the arrival of jobless workers continues next year. Usually, when they come back home, they bring all the money that they earn until their repatriation.
The remittance income may show a healthy growth in that time. But it will not be good for the sector, she opined.
When asked, Ms Siddiqui also said there are several factors behind the sudden increase in remittance earning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
First of all, the migrants are remitting more, as many are closing businesses or investments before returning from the Middle East.
A large amount of remittance comes home through hundi (irregular channel) because of visa trading, import of raw materials by manufacturers, and gold smuggling.
But those activities declined significantly because of the coronavirus fallout. So, the remittances are coming home through formal channel at present, she observed.
Bangladeshi expatriates sent US$ 10.9 billion remittance in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2020-21, which is 41.33 per cent higher than that of the corresponding period of previous FY.
They sent $18.2 billion remittance in FY 2019-20. The amount is 11 per cent more than that of the previous fiscal, the central bank statistics said.
On the other hand, a study showed that about 74 per cent of returnee migrant workers had left behind a significant amount of money in their workplaces during the pandemic period.
On an average, the affected migrants lost Tk 175,000 (minimum Tk 9,500 and maximum Tk 500,000), noted the study, conducted by RMMRU.
Of the money, the major portion was unpaid wages. In addition, cases were reported in which the migrants lost money, as they gave loans to their friends from other countries, paid for visa renewal, and were subjects to theft by law-enforcers.
RMMRU made the qualitative study on 50 male migrant workers, impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The workers returned from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Malaysia.
Many of the returnee workers are facing economic hardship, as they have come back home empty-handed.
Talking to the Financial Express, a good number of returnee workers said they are trying for jobs or income-generating activities at home. But they could not manage anything yet.
According to another research report, released by International Organization for Migration (IOM) in August, showed that about 70 per cent of the Bangladeshi returnee migrants are struggling to find jobs.
The study - 'Rapid Assessment of Needs and Vulnerabilities of Internal and International Returnee Migrants in Bangladesh' - was conducted on 1,486 workers, who returned from abroad during February-June period.
However, as a part of reintegration support by the government, a fund worth Tk 2.0 billion was launched in July through Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB).
But the workers are facing difficulties in going through the loan application procedure, as they cannot fulfill the terms and conditions.
Shakirul Islam, chairman of Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Programme (OKUP), said one-stop service centre should be set up to ensure income-generating and psycho-social reintegration supports for the workers.
The procedure of the government's programmes should be worker-friendly, so that they can properly receive the existing services provided by the government.
Besides, the government should increase flow of low-cost funds for the returnee workers' livelihood programme. It should also explore scopes of jobs in the country and new destinations to employ them with quality jobs, he added.
However, after months of uncertainty, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh has been sending workers abroad for the last two to three months.
The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) data showed that a total of 2,464 male and female workers went abroad with jobs during the period between October 01 and November 19.
But the demand for workers is very low, especially in the traditional markets, due to the coronavirus pandemic impact, said recruitment agents.
The highest number of workers went to Oman (891), followed by Saudi Arabia (813), Uzbekistan (524), Singapore (91), the UAE (60), and Albania (24).
The government is searching new markets to send workers. To this effect, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare is working to create more skilled workers, said its Minister Imran Ahmad at a programme this month.
The ministry is also thinking on how to increase services to the returnee migrant workers, he added.
Meanwhile, migration experts said the government should take a comprehensive plan to overcome the present crisis of overseas employment sector.
Otherwise, the sector will be in great trouble in future, they opined.
According to the sector insiders, about 10 million Bangladeshis are now working abroad, and most of them are in the Middle East.
