A Thai delegation met Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury and State Minister Mohammad Nurul Haque on Wednesday to discuss labour cooperation and recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.
The delegation included Nitrutti Suthinon, chairman of Thailand’s Senate Standing Committee on Labour; vice-chairman Chinachot Senysang; and Dr Pirasith Kunlartharipon, a member of the Labour Affairs Working Committee.
Suthinon said Thailand currently has agreements to recruit workers from four countries. Recruitment from Cambodia has stopped in construction, halal factories and agriculture because of recent border tensions, creating a labour shortage. Thailand is therefore interested in signing an agreement with Bangladesh as a fifth source country. The delegation raised concerns about workers staying after visa expiry, using Thailand as a transit point to other countries and human trafficking.
Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said Bangladesh wanted an arrangement in which employers paid the initial recruitment costs, standard employment contracts were provided in local languages, and effective safeguards covered workers’ welfare, fair wages, housing and medical insurance.
Officials said the minister accepted the Thai delegation’s proposal and hoped the two countries could sign a memorandum of understanding after resolving Thailand’s concerns. State Minister Nurul Haque said Thailand needs skilled workers and Bangladesh has a large labour pool; Thai employers could recruit skilled Bangladeshis through the government agency Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited, or BOESL.
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Mohammad Mokhter Ahmed said Bangladesh has suitable workers for both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Thailand’s cultural and climatic conditions make it an attractive destination, he said, but the two countries must work together on transparent recruitment, low-cost placement and workers’ rights.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report