Cost of migration to Saudi Arabia swells for male workers
Male workers’ cost of migration to Saudi Arabia recently increased due to visa trading by Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia, said officials and recruiting agents.
They alleged that the Bangladesh government showed no interest to take up the issue of black marketing Saudi employment visas in the host country with Saudi authorities.
Bangladesh government also failed to fix country specific migration costs for the Bangladeshi workers, they said.
Though the housemaids migration costs are borne by n Saudi employers, they said, e brokers were pocketing up to Tk 1,50,000 for sending female domestic workers to Saudi Arabia.
A male worker has to pay over Tk 5 lakh to recruiting agents to get Saudi employment visa.
Owner of recruiting agency, Al-Rabeta International Md Abul Bashar told New Age that Saudi employers resumed male worker recruitments from Bangladesh after a gap of about seven years.
He, however, said that Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia were black marketing Saudi employment visas for male workers.
He said that in the Saudi black market the employment visas were being sold for 20,000 to 25,000 Riyals, equivalent to Tk four to five lakh.
Black marketing of Saudi employment visas increased the cost of migration for the Bangladeshi male workers to Saudi Arabia, he said.
An expatriates welfare and overseas employment ministry official said that speculative media reports that the KSA would recruit many workers from Bangladesh prompted some of the recruiting agencies to pocket money by promising Saudi jobs to male workers.
EWOE ministry additional secretary Jabed Ahmed told New Age Tuesday that the government was trying to develop a mechanism to reduce the migration cost for the Saudi bound male workers.
But, he said, it would be a big challenge to tackle black marketing of Saudi employment visas by Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia.
Out of 15.50 lakh Bangladeshis working in Saudi Arabia, 50,000 are female domestic helps, according to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training..
