A vast majority of female migrant workers are not provided with written job contracts in time or with appropriate translation before their migration, according to a study.
Besides, a significant number of them are sent to job destination countries with fake documents, such as training and medical fitness certificates, and without orientation, that cause workplace vulnerability.
A study of Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), titled 'Access to Justice for Bangladeshi Migrant Workers: Improving the System', unveiled these in March. It interviewed 262 returnee female migrant workers.
The study found that nearly 88 per cent of the women were not provided with written job contracts in time or with appropriate translation as well as orientation.
Only 12 per cent of the returnee migrant workers confirmed that they had received job contracts before migration. Among them, around 47 per cent received the job contract a few hours before their flights, 31 per cent a few days before their flights, and 22 per cent a few weeks before their flights.
Most of the women said they were unable to understand the job contracts, as those were written in Arabic and English. The agents/sub-agents provided no clear information about terms and conditions of the job contracts. Rather, they forced the workers to sign the contracts by saying that without signing the papers nobody could migrate.
On the other hand, about 24 per cent of the women were provided with immigration clearance cards without their participation in the mandatory pre-departure training, organised by the government-run technical training centres. Around 17 per cent were sent with forged medically-fit certificates.
Seven per cent of the 262 women surveyed were under the age of 25, the legal age required to migrate; while three per cent were children below the age of 18, the study noted.
Talking to The FE, OKUP chairman Shakirul Islam said a section of manpower recruiters were doing these unlawful acts that leave the female migrant workers in vulnerabilities.
Job contract paper is very crucial for a worker. When the workers go abroad without any written job contract, they can be offered jobs that are not committed by the recruiters.
Similarly, when the workers are sent with fake birth, medical and pre-departure certificates, they face difficulties at their workplaces. Because of improper migration process, a large number of female workers return home being victimised from job destination countries, he mentioned.
"Actually, the manpower recruiters know very well that these are unlawful acts, but they do these with for cheating the workers."
Mr Islam sought bringing necessary amendments to the existing law, as there are some loopholes that help the recruiters' unethical activities in migration process.
The study also showed about 58 per cent (151 out of 262) of the female migrant workers returned home within 12 months of their initial migration.
Of them, around 54 per cent returned within less than three months after their departure from Bangladesh, while 21 per cent returned within three to six months, and 25 per cent returned within six to twelve months.
Only 6.0 per cent of the migrant workers were able to complete their two-year job contract, and 21 per cent completed more than two years. The main reasons for return were illness (29 per cent), and physical torture (16 per cent).
According to the testimonies of the returnee female migrant workers, 95 per cent of all recruitment for overseas jobs takes place with the assistance of field-level sub-agents, who are unofficially engaged with the licensed recruiting agents as a part of the chain. The Overseas Employment and Migrants Act (OEMA) 2013 does not recognise the presence of any sub-agent in the recruitment process.
The research recommended to adopt separate comprehensive rules for 'arbitration', as stipulated in the OEMA (sub-section 4 of article 41).
It also suggested ensuring greater transparency through establishing an arbitration tribunal as a separate wing with a separate office and necessary human resources, including a pool of qualified arbitrators.
According to data of the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) more than 0.9 million women went abroad with jobs since 1991. Most of them went to the Middle-Eastern countries.
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