After several thousand people signed up for jobs in Saudi Arabia last week following an advertisement, the expatriates’ welfare and overseas Employment minister yesterday clarified that there was no need to rush for registration now and that the government would open online registration only for females seeking jobs as domestic helps in the Kingdom soon. “Initially, Saudi Arabia wants to hire only house maids. So, male workers don’t need to register names at this moment,” Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told a press briefing at the capital’s Probashi Kallyan Bhaban, which saw a huge rush of jobseekers past week. “The government didn’t circulate any notice for registration for jobs in Saudi Arabia,” the minister said.
“Once we get job orders, we will go for the regular registration system.” The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) published the advertisement in five Bangla dailies on February 67, asking people to sign up online for jobs in Saudi Arabia and other countries between February 9 and 12, at the Probashi Kallyan Bhaban, district manpower offices and Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. When jobs were available, candidates would be able to register online at union information service centres and district manpower offices.
However, the jobseekers should keep away from fraudsters offering help in exchange for money.
About the growing concerns over security of domestic helps in KSA and other Middle East countries, the workers would be allowed to use cell phones there so that they could contact their families in Bangladesh and other people concerned at KSA and Bangladesh. The government needs to set up shelter houses at all manpower receiving countries including Saudi Arabia so that any victim can find immediate protection.
“As neither our labour wing officials nor the employing countries’ police can respond to the victims instantly, the government needs to introduce a system in Bangladesh to monitor this issue.
Also there should be payment of the female workers through banks in KSA. On February 10, Riyadh signed an agreement with Dhaka to hire 10,000 skilled Bangladeshi house maids in March. Meanwhile, the Saudi government plans to offer a new general amnesty in March for illegal foreign workers to rectify their visa status, reported the Saudi Gazette.
Officials at the Bangladesh mission in Riyadh, however, said only 20,000 or 25,000 Bangladeshi workers might be working there illegally now. But they would be regularized under the terms of the amnesty very soon.
