Bangladesh received more than 2,000 bodies of migrant workers from different job-destination countries in the first seven months of this year, official data showed.
According to the Wage Earners' Welfare Board (WEWB) statistics, the country brought home 2,187 bodies of migrant workers from various countries from January to July of 2021.
On the other hand, the government received 2,884 bodies of migrant workers in 2020, and 3,658 bodies in 2019.
Officials said most of the bodies were brought home from Saudi Arabia, the largest job-destination country.
Migrant rights activists said the actual number of dead workers would be higher than the official figure, as many of them were buried in the destination countries, while many bodies were brought home by the families of deceased on their own initiative.
Besides, a notable number of migrants died with coronavirus infection abroad, and were buried in foreign lands during the pandemic period.
Most of the death certificates, issued by the destination countries, showed natural deaths of the expatriates. But rights groups said uncongenial working environment, heavy workload, poor living condition, mental stress, and different diseases - including heart attack and stroke, resulted in their deaths.
Some were killed in accidents, while some others were murdered. A number of workers, especially women, also committed suicide due to tortures in different ways, they added.
Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP) chairman Shakirul Islam said due to lack of occupational health and safety measures, workers faced various kinds of health-related complications.
Usually the workers go abroad between the ages of 25 and 45. They also faced mental pressure when they go abroad with high migration cost, and take extra workload to recover it. So, migration cost should be reduced to a reasonable level, he observed.
The OKUP chair stressed the need for ensuring congenial working environment and standard wages. At the same time, proper investigation is necessary to identify the reasons behind the untimely deaths.
The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data showed that around 0.6 to 0.7 million workers went abroad from Bangladesh annually before the coronavirus outbreak.
Since 1976, more than 13 million Bangladeshis have gone to different countries. But in 2020, only 0.2 million workers could go abroad with jobs following the Covid-19 fallout.
arafataradhaka@gmail.com