The government is to create massive employment for expatriates who have returned from abroad due to the novel coronavirus.
As part of the initiatives, the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment has taken various programmes for the betterment of the foreign returnees, ministry sources said.
Probashi Kallyan Bank will provide them a maximum Tk five lakh loan without any collateral.
Training will be provided on poultry, agriculture and tailoring jobs to the returnees. According to the statistics of two leading non-governmental organizations, more than one million Bangladeshis have already returned to the country due to the coronavirus. Many of them had to return permanently after losing their jobs and businesses abroad. Thousands of workers who are still abroad have also become jobless by this time. Within the next few months, another 29,000 expatriates will return.
Considering all these factors, the government in principle has decided to provide loans to those who had returned permanently.
The loan will be given at 4 percent interest only. Loan of maximum Tk 3 lakh will be provided without any collateral, sources said.
Government has already announced incentives of Tk 200 crore. Besides, a separate amount will be allocated from the taka one lakh crore incentives announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently.
There were one crore and 20 lakh expatriates in 169 countries, of whom, 75 percent lived in six Middle Eastern countries.
Around 22 lakh Bangladeshi workers lived in Saudi Arabia only.
Over three lakh Bangladeshi workers live in Saudi Arabia illegally while another four to five lakh people are involved in various businesses under free visas in Saudi Arabia.
Shariful Hasan, the head of BRAC said, “We should formulate a proper plan to provide employment for those who have already returned. We must also take up programmes for those coming soon, as more than fifty lakh expatriates have lost their jobs abroad.”
Tasneem Siddiqui, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) of the University of Dhaka said, “Due to the increasing cut in oil prices, many countries will adjust the financial losses by terminating workers. There is no chance for new recruitment during the regime of coronavirus.”
Many experts said that after the pandemic ends, there will be a chance of new employment in the cleaning sectors. And some Bangladeshi workers can get the opportunity.
Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of Center for Policy Dialogue said, “Huge numbers of expatriates will return to the country. We should be ready for the bad consequences.”
We must have a good plan on how we shall create employment for them, he added.
About the initiatives, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment secretary, Dr Ahmed Monirus Salehin said, “We are going to give loans to the returned expatriates.”
“We held an inter-ministerial meeting recently, where home secretary, finance secretary and foreign secretary were also present,” he added.
Responding to a question, he said, “We have decided to give loans at four percent interest from the Wage Earners' Welfare Board primarily.”
We shall disburse these loans through the Probashi Bank, he further said.
