Sixteen migrant rights bodies in Bangladesh in a joint statement on Sunday lamented that the plight of migrant workers during the pandemic was not taken care of properly in the proposed budget.
They observed that the proposed budget for FY 2020-2021 has “little attention” to allocate “specific funds” for the migrant workers and their families.
They urged the government to increase allocation for returnee migrants and the migration sector during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The organisations are OKUP, BNSK, BRAC, IID, WARBE, INAFI, BOMSA, BASUG, KARMOJIBI NARI, MJF, BNPS, DEVCOM, IMA , AWAJ FOUNDATION ,Migration news and FILMS 4 PEACE Foundation.
They also placed three demands to the government for consideration and inclusion in the budget before approval:
• Allocate minimum TK 1000 crore for the vulnerable returnee migrant workers and the families under the proposed amount of the social safety net programmes for the FY 2020-2021
• Ensure proper rehabilitation and sustainable employment for the affected migrant workers and the families through allocation of necessary amount to the development budget of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment
• Make double the current 2% incentive rate provided on the remittances sent by the migrant workers
Remittance is one of the main driving forces of Bangladesh’s economy. Bangladeshi migrant workers remitted TK 1,380 billion in the FY 2018-19, which has reached TK 1,387 billion in the departing FY 2019-20. Even during this global crisis, they did not stop sending money back home.
The rights bodies said, however, the national budget allocated Tk 641 crore for the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment for FY2020-21, which is one of the lowest.
There was no clear plan in the Finance Minister’s budget speech about the livelihoods for the influx of returnees who are projected to be returned due to covid-19 pandemic, which is disappointing, they said.
Since migrant workers are hit hard by this global health crisis, the government should allocate more funds for the welfare of migrant workers.
“We want to remind everyone that the COVID-19 pandemic left millions of Bangladeshi migrant workers jobless worldwide.
“Almost all of them are facing immense troubles. Even the government fears that about ten lakhs Bangladeshi workers are at the risk of deportation due to the loss of their jobs.”
On the other hand, around 1.5 lakh workers—who are supposed to be migrated soon—couldn’t go abroad because of the global lockdown.
They are also facing an uncertain future. In the meantime, the World Bank forecasted the global unemployment rate to increase.
The World Bank also projected a 22 percent drop in Bangladesh’s remittance earnings. But the national budget has not adequately addressed any of these issues.
Migrant workers are not provided any incentives which were provided by the government to different categories of people in the country who are affected by covid-19.
Numbers of migrants’ families have been facing dire economic crises including food shortage.
In addition to the allocation of Tk 641 for the Ministry, the proposed Budget allocated Tk 500 crore as soft loan for the returnee migrant workers through the Probashi Kallyan Bank.
The amounts are grossly inadequate compared to the contribution of the migrant workers to the economy, and their needs.
The government has increased allocation for the social safety net programme and proposed to widen the coverage.
Despite substantial demands, the issue of inclusion of the migrant workers and their families into the social safety net program has yet to be addressed, read the joint statement.
