Qatar keen on hiring more skilled workers from Bangladesh
Qatar has expressed its interest in hiring skilled and semi-skilled workers from Bangladesh in the healthcare, hospitality, driving, construction and IT sectors as the Gulf nation faces a shortage of skilled workforce.
Visiting Labour Minister of Qatar Ali bin Saeed bin Al Samikh Al Marri made the expression at separate meetings with the expatriate welfare minister and the foreign affairs minister in Dhaka on Sunday.
After a meeting with the labour minister, the expatriate ministry and foreign ministry officials said that the Arab nation has expressed its commitment to protect and strengthen migrant labour rights amid wide criticisms from international rights groups.
"Many stadiums, hotels, and markets have been built in Qatar on the occasion of the World Cup. Apart from this, skilled workers will be needed in the health and IT sectors as well," Md Shahidul Alam, director general of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), told The Business Standard.
Referring to the low number of labourers going to Qatar in the last few years, he said, "We have proposed to set up a Bangladesh-Qatar technical training centre to provide skilled workers as per the demand of Qatar."
He said Qatar's minister has called upon the Bangladeshi workers to deal with issues legally rather than staging agitations if any of their rights are violated.
The BMET director general mentioned that the labour rights issues have also been discussed in the joint working group meeting of both countries on Sunday.
During a courtesy call on Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Qatar's labour minister mentioned that they want to hire more skilled workers from Bangladesh in the coming days.
Momen briefed him about the initiatives taken by the Bangladesh government for skill development to meet growing demand at home and abroad, read a press release of the foreign ministry.
Some four lakh Bangladeshis are working in Qatar, according to an unofficial estimate.
The country recruited more than 50,000 Bangladeshis on average in the pre-Covid years.
Till July, the Gulf nation has recruited 12,344 workers from Bangladesh this year while the number was 11,158 in 2021, according to BMET.
Recruiting agencies in Bangladesh said that most of the workers are hired for the construction, driving and cleaning sectors.
Leading professional services networks PwC conducted a survey of more than 1,500 employees across the Middle East recently, in which 75% of respondents in Kuwait and 60% in Qatar said their country has a shortage of people with specialised skills, reports middle east-based news portal ZAWYA.com.
At a meeting with Expatriate Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed, Ali bin Saeed bin Al Samikh Al Marri emphasised sending skilled workers suited to the country's growing labour market, the ministry in Dhaka said in a press release.
Praising Bangladeshi workers, the labour minister said Qatar's labour law has been amended. In this act, foreign workers will get all the same benefits as domestic workers.
He also said actions are being taken immediately if employers engage in illegal activities with foreign workers. A welfare fund has been set up for workers working in Qatar. Payments are made from this fund if an employer is unable to pay dues, added the press release.
In the meeting, the expatriate welfare minister appreciated Qatar's positive reforms regarding changes in the Kafala system, which is used to monitor migrant workers, and setting up minimum wages.