Job market must ensure recruitment of locals first

This has been happening from the beginning of the emergence of RMG and textile sectors in Bangladesh because initially such manpower was not available locally. These foreign workers and executives come from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where the supply of such trained personnel were available and met the immediate need of the emerging market. Perhaps it was a necessity at the time.

However, their employers, sources complain, did not follow the rules of employing foreign workers and did not inform the concerned government agencies including the police. Over the decades, as the number of factories as well as joint venture projects increased manifold, number of such illegal workers also multiplied.

As of now, nobody knows how many foreign workers are employed in these sectors. According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD, a local think tank) study of 2015, there are about five lakh foreign workers in the country. However, trade union sources assert the number should not be less than a million.

The CPD study revealed that Indians workers in Bangladesh send home $3.76 billion (Taka 30,000 crore) annually. India considers Bangladesh is the fifth highest source of its foreign remittances. Sources say, in addition, large number of people who are staying in Bangladesh illegally and send huge amount of money home through the mechanism of hundi.

Compare to this, the officially registered number of foreign workers stand at 16,500 only. The Board of Investment (BoI) has reportedly given work permit to 13,000, while the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) has given permit to 3000, and 500 foreigners have been registered with NGO Bureau. It clearly shows that the government is totally ignorant about the existence of such a large number of foreign workers in the country.

While most people would like to go up in arms against the foreign workers but rationally speaking, they are here because there is a need for them and they are contributing to our economic growth and productivity. They, however, don’t contribute to the government revenue, but for that their employers are responsible. They do it because they too have a vested interest in evading taxes and also laundering money.

Now, this problem has also spread to other newly growing sectors like the ICT where there is a real need for foreign expertise. It is a kind of lawlessness pervading these sectors. As a result, NBR is not getting its due share of revenue while the banking sector is missing income from remittance as most money is carried personally across the border through highly skilled and trained agents.

A national daily recently reported that an Indian national who works at a big enterprise producing broiler chicken, chicks and fodder, take monthly salary of more than Tk 2.5 lakh. Bangladesh produces at least 6,000 skilled manpower with equivalent qualifications in veterinary medicines every year. But most of them do not get job while some get jobs at lower salary.

Foreigners are getting the preference in many sectors where availability of efficient and skilled manpower from within the country is plenty. Some Indian nations who earlier held mid level jobs in the Middle East but were lately asked to leave for various reasons, are being preferred in Bangladesh.

For some reason some countries in the Middle East have stopped recruiting Indian workers and they are now getting jobs in different sectors in Bangladesh.

The foreign job sector has now grown fairly large as nationals of 55 countries are now work in the country that include India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines. Nationals from the countries of Africa, Europe and America are increasingly are coming to Bangladesh.

It appears a good step that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to tighten the noose on tax evasion by foreign nationals working in Bangladesh. But this not something new because such moves in the past have failed to produce satisfactory results due mainly for non-cooperation of the employers who maintain close relation at the top level in the government.

However, the NBR is planning this time set up a taskforce with agencies that deal with foreigners for better monitoring their presence and undertake raids on firms that employ them with or without work permits. It is no secret that many foreigners come on visit visa to work here illegally and leave the country without paying taxes after working for short periods. They come again and work and they do it repeatedly to avoid the permanent residency which would make them accountable and pay income tax.

Incidentally, they can’t do it without the knowledge of their employers.

The NBR has also directed its intelligence units to conduct countrywide joint drives in big businesses and corporate houses to find out tax evaders, money launderers and smugglers in big businesses.

There is, of course, some doubt if such steps would work as it depends on administrative efficiency and political will of the policy makers. But there is no alternative to such efforts as locals are being deprived of their jobs in the country. As mentioned, needed foreign nationals are welcome to take up jobs formally but should not be allowed to get in through underhand dealings.

What appears surprising is that while our youths are suffering from joblessness and often risking lives in their attempts to get a job abroad in every conceivable location.

It also appears that the government is indifferent to the reality and lacks the determination to focus on education policy to create facilities for training of skilled manpower keeping in view the local market needs and also those countries requiring foreign manpower to meet their growing needs.

Source: Weekly Holiday