Migrants face growing risks at home, abroad

Bangladeshi migrant workers face growing uncertainty as job opportunities in the Gulf decline and recruitment costs remain high, while people moving to cities struggle with unsafe housing and poor services, researchers said yesterday.

They urged cheaper recruitment, stronger migrant protection, and safer cities. They spoke at the 30th anniversary programme of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) and Shonar Manush Shommilon 2026 at a hotel in the capital.

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In a presentation, Dilip Ratha, CEO of Ratha Global and former World Bank lead economist, said Bangladeshi recruitment slowed in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries amid the Middle East conflicts.

He warned that Gulf countries were hiring more from Africa and Central Asia instead of relying heavily on South Asia, posing a long-term challenge.

Citing a 2016 World Bank-International Labour Organisation survey, Ratha said some workers paid agents recruitment fees equivalent to two or three years of expected wages abroad.

Some borrowed at 40 to 50 percent annual interest, exposing them to exploitation and reducing remittances to their families.

Gulf countries were hiring more from Africa and Central Asia instead of relying heavily on South Asia, posing a long-term challenge.

Dilip Ratha, CEO of Ratha Global and former World Bank lead economist

He called the resulting debt burden “modern day slavery” and urged lower fees. Referring to press reports, he said Bangladeshis paid $4,000 to $5,000 for jobs abroad.

Migration would keep growing due to income gaps, ageing populations, climate change and conflict, he said, urging greater use of remittances for development.

At the event, Neil Adger, professor of human geography at the University of Exeter, said research found that many people leaving coastal Bangladesh did not consider themselves climate migrants.

They cited jobs, income, and their children’s education as reasons for migration, although changing rainfall patterns, storms, and other environmental pressures were undermining their livelihoods and influencing their migration decisions, he said.

In Chattogram, migrants sometimes earned more but faced illness, eviction threats, flooding, and poor access to public services, his research found. Such insecurity worsened during prolonged stays in informal settlements.

Prof Neil said migration helped people adapt to climate change only when it reduced insecurity, improved wellbeing, and strengthened resilience to future shocks.

Planned relocation could improve housing security but fail to secure livelihoods or address gender inequality.

“We need a plan for internal migration,” he said, also calling for safer international migration and city planning involving migrant communities.

State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur admitted that the government had not done enough to protect migrants or regulate recruiters.

His ministry received complaints from people who paid agents but could not travel, or reached abroad to find no promised jobs, he said.

Of over 3,000 recruiting agencies, only 300-500 might meet strict performance standards, he said. Some agencies blocked from online recruitment over alleged irregularities have resumed operations.

Nur said training was being revised for overseas demand, and acknowledged inadequate support for women migrant workers facing abuse abroad.

The “Probashi Card” was being tested in four or five countries, including Jordan and South Korea. The government sought to raise the cash remittance incentive from 2.5 percent to 3 percent for cardholders and offer priority services.

At the programme, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman said expatriates faced years of disputes over money sent home and property bought with overseas earnings. Some cases continued after their deaths, leaving heirs to pursue them.

The government is drafting a proposal for special courts, particularly at district headquarters, to hear expatriates’ cases, he said. The proposal would undergo consultations before possible placement in parliament.

Expatriates could seek help through a 24-hour legal aid hotline and district mediation, the minister said. He also criticised recruiters for submitting forged certificates from non-existent institutions.

ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said women workers’ remittances were often overlooked. Migrants sometimes faced court battles to recover money sent home, she said. ActionAid’s research collaborations also examined how disasters forced people to migrate to cities, informing policy responses.

Diepak Elmer, chargé d’affaires at the Swiss embassy, said, “Migrants are not simply senders of money, they are people with ambitions, families, and rights.”

Citing a limited survey, Elmer said the share of prospective migrants checking their visas before departure rose from 3 percent to 58 percent. More than 300 recruiting agency representatives received ethical recruitment training this year, while migrants recovered over Tk 10 lakh with programme support.

Elmer said migration was increasingly a form of climate adaptation, demanding development policies rather than humanitarian measures alone. Strong national institutions were needed to sustain reforms beyond short-term projects.