Manpower export in September drops amid remittance worries

Amid mounting concerns over a recent decline in remittance inflows, Bangladesh's labour export figures took a significant hit in September, falling to 107,574 – the lowest figure in four months and a 22.42% drop from August, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

The previous lowest figure was In May when the country exported 101.558 labourers.

This decline was attributed to a sharp reduction in labour exports to Malaysia, which fell from 46,105 in August to a mere 21,520 in September. Also, labour exports to Middle Eastern countries, which is the primary destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, experienced a decline to four key nations – the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar – while experiencing a slight increase to Saudi Arabia.

Labour recruiters placed blame on BMET's intervention in the export of labour to Malaysia, which has also not approved any new quotas — a contributing factor to the decline in figures.

The decline in labour export has become a concern as remittance inflows have steadily decreased over the past several months. In September, Bangladesh received a mere $1.34 billion in inward remittances, marking the lowest figure in 41 months.

Mohammed Abul Basher, president of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), stated that the reduction in demand has adversely affected the operations of recruiting agencies.

"There are 700 agencies engaged for manpower export. Among them, a syndicate has been formed by 10 organisations. There has been a loss of fairness in the recruiting sector due to the influence of syndicates," he added.

Abul Basher mentioned that many agencies have seen a decline in manpower export due to BMET being a priority to a few agencies.  Additionally, recent allegations of malpractice against some recruiting agencies in Saudi Arabia have also impacted the outflow of Bangladeshi workers.

M Abdul Hi, director (immigration) of BMET, said from the beginning of the current year, there has been a record number of migrant workers going abroad. "We have exported a significant portion of the annual demand for manpower in several countries, including Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. As a result, the demand in those countries is slow now. However, by the end of the year, there will still be significant growth in manpower exports."

Malaysian quota

Malaysia signed an agreement with Bangladesh on 19 December, 2021 to reopen its labour market for Bangladeshi workers after a hiatus of 3.5 years.

As of the latest update, the Malaysia's labour department has approved hiring of 4.57 lakh new Bangladeshi workers, with around 3 lakh workers already in Malaysia working in various sectors.

These sectors are manufacturing, construction, services, plantation, agriculture, mining, and household service. The remaining 1.27 lakh workers are in the process of travelling to the Southeast Asian country.

The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur hopes that if this trend continues, Malaysia will employ around five lakh new Bangladeshi workers within the next 2-3 years.

Ali Haider Chowdhury, secretary general of BAIRA, believes that the export of manpower witnessed a decrease last month as Malaysia filled most of its quota in the first eight months of the year.

"The export of manpower is dependent on job demand. If demand increases in the Middle Eastern countries, our manpower exports increase. However, its number fluctuates every month," he explained.

Overseas job trend

Bangladesh sent over 9.89 lakh workers this year until September. Among them, Saudi Arabia is the top destination (35%) followed by Malaysia (29%), Oman (11%), UAE (8%), Singapore (4%), Kuwait (3%) and Qatar (3%).

Most of the foreign workers in the Middle Eastern countries are employed as construction workers, cleaners and housemaids. These countries also employ semi-skilled workers like drivers, electricians, and plumbers.

Besides, Italy has already hired 15,242 workers, the UK 6,434 and South Korea around 4,218.

However, Bangladesh is still considered as the source of less-skilled workers in the global market. 

According to a report from the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, the number of skilled workers who travelled to other countries decreased in 2022 compared to the previous year.

In 2021, the number of skilled workers was 21.33% of the country's total labour migration, which came down to 17.76% in 2022, it said.

However, there was no significant change in the number of semi-skilled workers, which was 3.26% in 2022 and 3.28% in 2021.

The migration of Bangladeshi workers that had come to a complete halt in 2020 owing to pandemic-led restrictions started turning around in August 2021.

The upward trend has been continuing since then, taking labour migration to a near pre-pandemic level. Before the pandemic, Bangladesh used to send abroad an average of 60,000-70,000 workers every month. Bangladesh sent a record 11.35 lakh workers abroad last year.