Legal services should be hassle-free and accessible for migrant workers at the grassroots level, said speakers at a workshop on Wednesday.
To this effect, they said, these services should be decentralised by extending it to the country's union level.
At the same time, victims should be provided with the necessary support so that they can come forward to lodge complaints or file lawsuits against frauds.
They made their remarks while speaking at "Dissemination Workshop on Draft ADR Rules under the Overseas Employment and Migration Act, 2013 to Address Migration Related Disputes" organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in collaboration with British Council at a city hotel.
RMMRU Executive Director Dr CR Abrar, Director Marina Sultana, Joint Secretary of law ministry Rafiqul Hasan, and District Judge Saiful Islam, among others, spoke at the workshop while it was moderated by Shirin Lira of the British Council.
Speaking at the workshop, lawmakers, senior lawyers, government officials and migrant rights activists said that the migrant workers, who were the mostly marginalised group, must be protected by laws as they have been greatly contributing to the national economy
Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud was the chief guest at the programme. He said migrant workers were sending remittances home.
Bangladesh was set to receive a remittance of US$ 24 billion during this fiscal year. If the country could send skilled workers, the annual remittance inflow could be increased to US$ 40 billion by the next 10 years, he said.
Mr Islam, also the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, emphasised the need for lessening migration fraudulence through mediation process by involving the upazila executive officers to get quick disposal of migrants' cases.
Barrister Shameem Haider Patwary, chairman of Bangladesh Parliamentarians' Caucus on Migration and Development, said that a mechanism should be in place across the country so that the migrant workers do not need to go to the courts to get their remedies.
Shahidul Alam, director general of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), said skilled migration was important for lessening different types of problems.
Skilled workers and professionals would be sent abroad more in the coming days, he added.
Advocate Salma Ali stressed the need for ensuring financial compensation to the victim migrant workers.
She said Bangladeshi migrant workers had been facing many problems at home and abroad.
Director of Bangladeshi Ovhibashi Mohila Sramik Association (BOMSA) Farida Yeasmin said that confusion lied in the current migration law and rules about the arbitration system must be removed to ensure fair justice to migrants.
Bangladesh Nari Sramik Kendro (BNSK) Executive Director Sumaiya Islam said that the arbitration centres must be decentralised to each upazila and union level to extend the justice systems to migrants' doorsteps.
Syed Saiful Haque, chairman of WARBE Development Foundation, said that migrant workers were scattered across the country, and so their access to grievance management systems must be ensured at the grassroots.
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