Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said that the process of police clearance will be made easier for manpower export.
He made the comment at a reception given to him by the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) at the Sheraton Dhaka on Wednesday.
"We have already introduced e-passport and e-gate facilities at airports, which will be expanded further,” the minister said while replying to a demand by international recruiting agencies to omit police clearance requirements for manpower exports.
“Soon, these e-gates will be able to identify valid visas. The gates will only work when everything is in order. Thus, there will be no need for police to physically check the visas. There will be no need to stand in a line at the immigration,” the minister said.
BAIRA members said the issue of police clearance has become a barrier in sending workers abroad on time as the process takes nearly one and a half months to complete. If workers do not reach their destinations on time, the employer has to pay a fine for each day.
They also said that the police clearance requirement needs to be cancelled, as it is not followed anywhere else in the world except Bangladesh.
Addressing the event, the home minister said that when Bangladeshis drown in the Mediterranean Sea, people hold the police accountable on how they could avoid detection and get to be trafficked abroad. This puts pressure on police to take action in this regard and businesses also suffer losses due to such incidents.
“However, there should be no problem in sending workers abroad legally,” the minister added. He further said that Dubai had a visit visa for a long time, so many were trying to go to Europe via Dubai with a visit visa.
“Now, Dubai has introduced labour visa and this will stop people from trying to enter Europe via Dubai,” he said.
Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, chairman of the parliamentary committee of the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, said remittance from manpower export has overtaken RMG exports. Last year, Bangladesh received $24 million in remittance.
“Those who send workers abroad as per the immigration law will not fall under the human trafficking law. Thus, there is no need to amend the law in this regard, he further added.
Speaking as the special guest, BAIRA former president and Unique Group Managing Director Mohammad Noor Ali said police clearance should be lifted for workers going abroad.
“It takes long time for police clearance. It takes another three months to complete other works. This hinders manpower exports.”
He also said that in foreign nations it takes only a letter to authority to get the work done, but we need to take it to the streets in our country to realize our demands.
“If we need to reach the prime minister or another minister for every issue, then how will we work?”
We do business and add value to the sector, not politics. Thousands of crores of taka has been invested in this sector with commitment. Peoples’ livelihood is also involved, he added.
He also said that Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) needs more manpower. Despite being enlisted in Saudi Arabia, the embassy was not allowing hundreds of agencies to operate and they are unable to send staff to Saudi Arabia.
