Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-In a major development, the Saudi Arabian government has decided to recruit manpower from Bangladesh without any cost.
The Kingdom will recruit around 10,000 workers every month under the new guideline, Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said while briefing newsmen Monday.
The minister’s announcement came after holding a meeting with the visiting 19-member Saudi delegation.
Ahmed F Alfahaid, deputy minister for KSA’s labour ministry’s international affairs, led the Saudi team while Mr Hossain headed a 10-men delegation from Bangladesh.
The meeting discussed manpower trade after the Kingdom on February 1 lifted its ban on exporting manpower from Bangladesh.
The KSA government imposed the ban on importing manpower from Bangladesh in 2008 alleging anomalies in the recruitment process.
The Bangladeshi workers will have to spend maximum BDT 20,000 for passport processing and other activities inside the country, Mr HOssain said.
The employers will bear the full cost of migration process including plane fare and levy cost.
Asked about the wage of the workers, he said, “We are yet to finalise the matter. But they will get at least 1,200 to 1,500 riyal.”
The kingdom recruited about 150,000 Bangladeshis each year until 2008, according to a statement of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.
The oil-rich Kingdom which is the largest manpower market for Bangladesh, hire workers from Bangladesh to work mainly in housing and agricultural sectors.
BBN/ASI/AD-9Feb15-1:30pm (BST)
