Reopening confined in hope

UAE LABOUR MARKET

The reopening of the labour market of the United Arab Emirates for Bangladeshi workers is still confined to hope of the government without any visible progress.

The oil rich Gulf nation has stopped issuance of visas for all Bangladeshis since October, 2012, due to problems regarding fake travel documents, forged passports and other irregularities, mainly hitting hard the worker migrants.
In this 4 years and a half, ministers and senior government officials on numerous occasions expressed optimism that the market will be open ‘soon’ which is yet to be materialised.
Even the visit of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2014 to the Emirates could not break the ice although people were, at that time, led to believe that the visa ban will be withdrawn.
“We hope the UAE labour market will be reopened soon,” Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam has told The Independent, yet another expression of hope without expressing his inability about mentioning any timeframe.
“In December, during the GFMD (Global Forum on Migration and Development) summit meeting, I had a meeting with UAE Labour Minister. I was assured that the market will be reopened soon,” he said.
Earlier in October, Bangladesh hosted a UAE delegation which also gave assurance, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Officials of Foreign Ministry, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) are of the opinion that the UAE is unlikely to reopen the market if vigorous efforts are not taken by the government.  
Except for few exceptions, the issuance of other visas has also remained stopped, they said. 
About 14 lakh Bangladeshi already work in the UAE, and they count for sending home the second highest amount of remittance, after Saudi Arabia.
Recruiting agencies believe that the government is not doing enough to make the reopening of Bangladesh’s second largest labour market happen. They said that if nothing can be done right now Bangladeshi workers will be deprived of availing of the opportunity created ahead of World Expo 2020 EXPO, which will require huge infrastructure.

Some officials fear that Bangladeshi workers may not be given the opportunity to work in the infrastructure projects to be undertaken for World Expo 2020 as Dhaka initially did not vote for Dubai to hold the world event.
Bangladeshi officials publicly say that that problem has been overcome, but privately admit that Bangladesh’s ‘unwise’ decision to vote for a Russian city had a negative impact in the minds of UAE government officials.  
“To be honest, we really don’t know as to when the market will reopen. Not only labourers, the UAE has also stopped issuing visas for all Bangladeshis including tourists except for some exceptional cases,” a senior official familiar with the Emirates told The Independent. “They assure us al the time. But, those assurance never turn into materialisation,” he said.
“Due to this ban people working in different multi-national companies in various countries cannot undertake jobs in the UAE multi-national companies. This is damaging the image of the country on the face of world. They (UAE) cannot do this,” said the official. 
Asked about the remedy, he bluntly replied, “I don’t know. I wish I knew.” “Under the circumstance, we are helpless…Plain and simple,” said another official.

Reopening confined in hope

UAE LABOUR MARKET

The reopening of the labour market of the United Arab Emirates for Bangladeshi workers is still confined to hope of the government without any visible progress. The oil rich Gulf nation has stopped issuance of visas for all Bangladeshis since October, 2012, due to problems regarding fake travel documents, forged passports and other irregularities, mainly hitting hard the worker migrants. In this 4 years and a half, ministers and senior government officials on numerous occasions expressed optimism that the market will be open soon which is yet to be materialised. Even the visit of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2014 to the Emirates could not break the ice although people were, at that time, led to believe that the visa ban will be withdrawn. We hope the UAE labour market will be reopened soon, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam has told The Independent, yet another expression of hope without expressing his inability about mentioning any timeframe. In December, during the GFMD (Global Forum on Migration and Development) summit meeting, I had a meeting with UAE Labour Minister. I was assured that the market will be reopened soon, he said. Earlier in October, Bangladesh hosted a UAE delegation which also gave assurance, a Foreign Ministry official said. Officials of Foreign Ministry, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment and Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) are of the opinion that the UAE is unlikely to reopen the market if vigorous efforts are not taken by the government. Except for few exceptions, the issuance of other visas has also remained stopped, they said. About 14 lakh Bangladeshi already work in the UAE, and they count for sending home the second highest amount of remittance, after Saudi Arabia. Recruiting agencies believe that the government is not doing enough to make the reopening ofBangladeshs second largest labour market happen. They said that if nothing can be done right now Bangladeshi workers will be deprived of availing of the opportunity created ahead of World Expo 2020 EXPO, which will require huge infrastructure. Some officials fear that Bangladeshi workers may not be given the opportunity to work in the infrastructure projects to be undertaken for World Expo 2020 as Dhaka initially did not vote for Dubai to hold the world event. Bangladeshi officials publicly say that that problem has been overcome, but privately admit that Bangladeshs unwise decision to vote for a Russian city had a negative impact in the minds of UAE government officials. To be honest, we really dont know as to when the market will reopen. Not only labourers, the UAE has also stopped issuing visas for all Bangladeshis including tourists except for some exceptional cases, a senior official familiar with the Emirates told The Independent. They assure us al the time. But, those assurance never turn into materialisation, he said. Due to this ban people working in different multi-national companies in various countries cannot undertake jobs in the UAE multi-national companies. This is damaging the image of the country on the face of world. They (UAE) cannot do this, said the official. Asked about the remedy, he bluntly replied, I dont know. I wish I knew. Under the circumstance, we are helplessPlain and simple, said another official.