Jamil Mahmud

Shahadat Hossain was all set to fly to Saudi Arabia in March as a date farm worker, dreaming of a better life for his family members. But before he could make his journey, came the deadly Covid-19, suspending air communications with the Gulf countries in mid-March.

After years of struggle, Mostakim Alam landed a job at a digital printing shop in Kuwait as a computer operator. With earnings of Tk 1.20 lakh a month, all was going well.

As Saudi Arabia announced a new labour reform initiative to ease foreign workers’ contractual restrictions, migrant rights activists and officials hope the move will improve the conditions of thousands of Bangladeshi workers in the oil-rich country.

Probashi Kallyan Bank, a specialised financial institution for migrant workers, is struggling to conduct its day-to-day activities due to manpower shortage.

After eight years of embargo, the Italian government will allow hiring workers from Bangladesh both in “seasonal” and “non-seasonal” categories starting from this year.

Undocumented Bangladeshis living in Peninsular Malaysia will get a chance to be regularised and recruited under a new programme.

About 1,200 returnees from Bahrain, who got stuck home for months amid the coronavirus pandemic, are facing uncertainty over going back to their workplaces as their visas expired.

Over 3,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers have been stranded at home for several months as they cannot fly to Kuwait to rejoin work due to suspension of air communications between the two countries amid the pandemic.

Shahidul Islam of Cumilla returned home on September 10 from Saudi Arabia after losing a restaurant job there.

The migrant workers’ crisis, which emerged after the outbreak of novel coronavirus, further deepened with the government response marred by inappropriate decisions coupled with delayed and inadequate actions.

Italy-bound expatriates are facing challenges to get back to their workplaces as many are still waiting for air tickets.

Hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers employed by private companies in Qatar are facing difficulties returning to their workplaces as their online applications for re-entry permits, required due to the pandemic, have been rejected or are under process for an unduly long time.

Expatriate workers flying to Italy on a special Biman flight will have to pay about Tk 77,000 for a ticket, over twice the amount they used to pay before the pandemic.

Around 25,000 aspiring migrant workers are facing new hassles as Saudi Arabia asked them to resubmit documents for reissuing their visas, expired amid coronavirus pandemic.

Although the government has resumed international flights, many expatriate workers are facing difficulties in returning to Saudi Arabia due to the big gap between the demand for tickets and the frequency of flights.

Many migrant workers are still uncertain about rejoining work in Saudi Arabia anytime soon as several foreign airlines are yet to resume flights to the kingdom.

The Saudi Arabian Airlines will operate 50 to 60 flights between Dhaka and Saudi Arabia this month in a bid to fly more workers waiting to go back to the Gulf country.

Many migrant workers, who got stuck after coming from Saudi Arabia on vacation, are having to ask their employers to get their visas and residence permits renewed.

Despite grim predictions, remittance inflow stayed strong for the fourth straight month as expatriates sent home $2.15 billion last month, giving the country’s economy some relief amid the pandemic.

At least 55,000 Bangladeshi expatriates have been waiting to board Saudi Arabia-bound flights with return their tickets in hand since the Covid-19 pandemic halted their return to the Kingdom.