ILO, Bangladesh and Switzerland extend partnership for sustainable reintegration of return migrant workers

 The Governments of Bangladesh and Switzerland, together with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) today launched a new project on sustainable reintegration for returned migrant workers. 

This extends a long-standing partnership and commitment to establish a gender responsive and inclusive policy frameworks with strengthened systems to ensure that return migrant workers are sustainably reintegrated and continue to contribute to the country’s growth and development. 

The project, signed in December 2023 with the Government of Bangladesh, aims to support the reintegration of returned migrant workers through institutions and an effective coordination mechanism that can effectively provide employment and business development support services to the workers.

In the welcoming remarks, Mr. Md. Saiful Haque Chowdhury, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said, “The contribution of the project is going to be immense and instrumental and will significantly help us to develop our capacity, systems of inclusive and sustainable reintegration.”

At the project launching event Mr. Md. Mazharul Islam, National Programme Officer, ILO delineated overview of technical supports of ILO on labour migration. Ms. Rahnuma Salam Khan, National Project Manager, ILO presented the overview of Reintegration for Migrant Workers Project.

Chief Guest, Mr. Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury, MP, Honorable State Minster, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said, “I wholeheartedly appreciate the initiatives of our honourable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina MP, for her visionary steps and prudent leadership for welfare and protection of migrant workers. My deep appreciation towards ILO and Switzerland for creating this umbrella for diverse stakeholders and development partners with the leadership of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment. I wish all success of the project.”

“Switzerland has accompanied Bangladesh to design to the labour migration policy architecture in the country over the last 14 years and we are pleased with this long-standing partnership”, said Corinne Henchoz Pignani, the Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland.

Mr. Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO, said, “The ILO has been a longstanding partner of Bangladesh, working together to achieve sustainable reintegration for migrant workers. I am very optimistic that this project will strengthen policy and institutional frameworks for improved governance, provide social protection for migrants, create a clear pathway for harvesting the skills and experiences of migrant workers which will significantly boosts the country's economy.”

Special Guest Mr. Tanvir Shakil Joy, MP, Chairperson, Parliamentarians’ Caucus on Migration and Development said, “the ILO's tripartite approach has made us more inclusive. As members of parliaments, we are bringing voices of migrants through civil society organizations and grassroots experiences into our national policies. As the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Migration and Development, I believe initiatives like this will guide us towards safe migration and sustainable reintegration.”

“We have previously worked on diverse interventions on labour migration including reintegration with technical support from ILO. We already have some learnings from our past and existing experiences which will be considered during the implementation of this project. But the uniqueness of this particular project lies in its importance of sustainability. We have strong legal and policy foundations which yet to be fully implemented. I hope this project would provide a good example of joint efforts.” said Md Ruhul Amin, Secretary, Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment

The project launching and stakeholders networking event was also attended by members of Parliaments, representatives from the government, development partners, UN agencies, social partners, workers’ and employers’ organizations, private sector including recruiting agents civil society, Academia and media.

Post-COVID, Bangladesh became the top migrant worker sending country in Asia in 2021 and 2022, with more than one million (1m) overseas deployment in 2022[1]. Migrant remittances account for about 40 percent[2] of the country’s export earnings, only second to the readymade garment (RMG) sector.

Between 2011 and 2022, ILO in partnership with the Government of Switzerland, supported by the Government of Bangladesh to strengthen policy and institutional frameworks to improve the governance of labour migration of Bangladeshi workers to promote fair and transparent recruitment practices and social protection as well as to ensure protection of their rights in the countries of destination and upon return.

The new project “Reintegration for Migrant Workers Project: Enhancing Policies, Capacities and Systems for Inclusive and Sustainable Reintegration” will also support development of a well-defined, policy-based coordination mechanism migrant re-integration; strengthen the connection of employers’ organizations and workers’ organizations to skills development and employment opportunities for return migrant workers; and strengthen knowledge sharing on sustainable reintegration of migrant workers to inform programming, policy, and practice. The project also partners with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Parliamentary Caucus on Migration and Development.

Through this initiative return migrant workers in Bangladesh will be better equipped to transfer their acquired knowledge, skills, resources, networks, and capacities to the country.

[1] labor-migration-asia-changing-profiles-and-processes.pdf (adb.org)

[2] remittance january-march 2023.pdf (bb.org.bd)