Workers’ mortality abroad on rise [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Workers’ mortality abroad on rise

Local February 23, 2017

The number of Bangladeshi workers dying abroad steadily increased each year in last 12 years making the dependent families worried, Wage Earners’ Welfare Board officials said.
Soaring migration costs played a significant role in untimely deaths of increasing number of migrant workers causing losses to the country as well as their dependents, said officials and migrants’ rights activists.
Most of the workers were in the 25- 35 age bracket when they died abroad due to physical and mental stresses they had suffered for which low wages, debt burden brought on them by the high cost of migration and unfriendly workplace atmosphere were blamed.
WEWB director general Gazi Mohammad Julhas told reporters that bodies of over 3,481 workers, flown home in 2016, were the highest for any year since 2005.
Stroke and heart attack were the predominant causes of deaths of the workers abroad, said officials.
In 2015, at least 3,307 bodies of Bangladeshi migrant workers were brought home, said WEWB official records.
In 2014, bodies of over 3,335 workers were flown home, WEWB records.
In 2013, they show bodies of 3,076 workers were flown home, 2,878 bodies in 2012, 2,585 bodies in 2011, 2,560 bodies in 2010, 2,315 bodies in 2009, 2,098 bodies in 2008, 1,673 bodies in 2007, 1,402 bodies in 2006 and 1,248 bodies in 2005.
Bangladesh labour counselor in Riyadh Md Sarwar Alam said that it would be correct to say that the largest number of Bangladeshi workers die in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia every year.
He said that heart attacks and strokes were common causes of these deaths.
On June 3, 2016, Mustafizur Rahman, 28, of Kulipasha, Monirampur, Jessore died of heart attack while working in Malaysia.
His father Matalib Moral told New Age that Mustafiz had to spend Tk 3.5 lakh to get the job which he thought would change his fortune.
‘My son died even before he could repay the money he had borrowed to bear his migration cost,’ he said.
On November 17, Rafiqul Islam died of stroke in Kuwait at the age of 40.
Son of Amir Ali of Chilukot, Brahmanbaria, had gone to work in Kuwait about 10
years back, said his younger brother Solaiman Ali.
Solaiman said that the death of the lone bread earner put the family in extreme hardship.
WARBE Development Foundation’s general secretary Faruque Ahmed called it worrisome that an increasing number of migrant workers were dying at ages ranging from 25 to 35.
Faruque, who worked abroad, became a rights campaigner for the migrant workers on return home.
He demanded that the authorities should hold post mortem examinations before burying the dead.
Dhaka University professor of political science Tasneem Siddiqui said it was difficult to accept that so many workers’ death would occur naturally in their 30s.
Tasnim also founding chairperson of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit of DU demanded an immediate investigation to find out the actual causes of their deaths.