A Study of Labor Trafficking in Bangladesh prepared for Winrock International Actions for Combating Trafficking-in-Persons (ACT) Program Bangladesh Study Conducted and Report Prepared by Research for Development and Market (RDM) a company of August 2010, Dhaka *Made possible through the generous support of the American people * The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development or Winrock International. For additional copies contact Winrock International at: act@winrockbd.org or visit our website at www.actbd.org The Study Team Team Leader: Sayed Nurullah Azad, Migration and Population Development specialist Consultant, RDM Consulting – Media-mix Enterprise Ltd. Stakeholder Analyst: Khandaker Rezwanul Karim, Rights and Labor Migration specialist Programme Manager, MJF – Manusher Jonno Foundation Co-Researcher: Mahbubur Rahman, Sociologist Coordinator, RDM Consulting – Media-mix Enterprise Ltd. Research Coordinator and Junior Researcher: Fatema Bashar, Anthropologist Executive, Media-mix Enterprise Ltd. Field Survey and Data Processing Team: Hasnaine Aftab, International Relations, Jahangir Nagar University Fatema Ferdousi, Gender and Women Studies, Dhaka University Moshtaq Ahmed, Urban and Regional Planning, Jahangir Nagar University Mushfiqa Jahan, International Relations, Dhaka University Analysis and Report Writing: S N Azad, Mahbubur Rahman and Rezwanul Karim Acknowledgement We acknowledge all the cooperation and assistance received from the diverse group of stakeholders. We have received cordial cooperation from different segments of people from the migrant community, community-basedorganizations, and Government and Non government entities. We are grateful to the officials of different government bodies who cooperated during the study. Our special thanks goes to different organizations working on migration - IOM, BRAC, RMMRU, DAM, Shakkhor, Shosti, Changemakers, Shishuk, BNWLA, TMSS, ACD, YPSA, BOMSA, WARBE Development Foundation who provided us with important insights and valuable suggestions for the study. We are very thankful to Ms Lisa Hammond, Chief of Party, ACT and other staff of Winrock International for providing us valuable input, positive and regular guidance, and suggestions to complete the study. Our special thanks to the consultants, Mr. Sayed Nurullah Azad and Mr. Rezwanul Karim and all the members of the study team, who have spent more than two months of their time visiting six districts in Bangladesh. RDM Media-mix Enterprise Ltd. Acronyms NRB HDR MRPC Non Resident Bangladeshi Human Development Report Migrants’ Rights Protection Committee GoB MEWOE MOFA MOWCA PID DEMO UP NGO CBO Government of Bangladesh Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Press Information Development District Employment and Manpower Officer Union Parishad Non-Government Organizations Community Based Organization UN UNO UNDP UNIFEM ILO IOM United Nations Upazilla Nirbahi Officer United Nations Development Program United Nations Development Fund for Women International Labor Organization International Organization for Migration BMET BAIRA WARBE BOMSA RMMRU BNWLA DAM ACT TMSS YPSA ACD IMA Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies Welfare Association of Repatriated Bangladeshi Employees Bangladeshi Ovibasi Mohila Sramik Association Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association Dhaka Ahsania Mission Actions for Combating Trafficking-in-Persons (ACT) Program Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha Young Power in Social Action Association for Community Development International Migrants Alliance Contents Acknowledgement Acronym Executive Summary Page 3 4 6 Chapter 1: 7-11 Introduction Background The evolution of migration and labor migration in Bangladesh A discussion of migration and trafficking Identifying Victims of Trafficking Labor trafficking within the context of Bangladesh 7 8 8 8 11 Chapter 2: Study Analytics Background Methodology Limitations 11-13 11 12 13 Chapter 3: Findings and Analysis Migration process and labor trafficking as a concept Demographic of the respondents Decision making process Migration cycle in Bangladesh Types of migration The experiences of labor migrants Cost of migration Occupational trends Living and work conditions Perception and knowledge of trafficking especially labor trafficking Coping with inadequacies in government and NGO infrastructure 14-26 14 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 21 23 24 Chapter 4 Summary of Practices Surrounding Labor Trafficking in Bangladesh Pre departure stage In the destination country Local and national level infrastructure addressing the rights violation of labor migrants 27-31 Chapter 5: Policy Recommendation and Conclusion 32-36 Survivor Service Needs Role of key stakeholders – NGO, Civil Society, Migrant Associations Concluding Summary 27 28 29 32 33 35 Annex 1: Analysis of Legal and Procedural Steps Necessary to Improve the Labor Migration Process in order to Combat Trafficking The relevant legal framework of Bangladesh regarding human trafficking International and regional instruments regarding labor trafficking 37-43 Annex 2: Summary of the U.S. Department of State’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report for Bangladesh 44-45 Annex 3: Data 46-69 37 42 Executive Summary Globalization in the twenty-first century brought a rapid movement of ideas, technology, and even people across the world. From a policy standpoint, the movement of peoples may be the most difficult challenge to emerge from this period of globalization due to the risks involved with protecting the rights and livelihoods of people as they migrate across the globe. Many of those migrants are laborers and in order to ensure that their human rights are protected, the issues surrounding labor migration must be addressed. Recently, the Republic of Bangladesh has experienced a large amount of out-migration of laborers due to the expansion of labor markets created by globalization, as well as internal economic stagnation that has created a labor surplus within the nation. The top countries of destination (according to the U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2010) are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. This high rate of emigration has created a system of foreign currency earnings that flow as remittances between members of the Bangladeshi community working abroad and citizens of the host country. These remittances have become an integral part of the nation’s economy and in recent decades have become an important and steady contributor to Bangladesh’s GDP. Within the 2009-2010 fiscal year the nation’s GDP was estimated around US $93 billion. Within that, over US$10 billion came from remittance earnings alone which constituted approximately 12% of the total GDP. Although remittances have become a major boon for the Bangladeshi economy, many laborers being sent abroad are hardly meeting with economic success. Instead, many laborers are suffering abuses from employers and becoming victims of labor trafficking. Unfortunately, the concept of labor trafficking is illdefined and misunderstood especially in Bangladesh. Not until 2008 did the Bangladeshi government, NGO sector, and other activists working on trafficking and labor migration related issues begin to use this terminology in relation to abuses that fall within the United Nations Palermo Convention’s definition of human trafficking. It is now imperative that labor trafficking be better understood as a concept so the present gap within needs and services of labor migrants and those at-risk of/for trafficking can be addressed in Bangladesh. With a review of the latest statistics on labor migration and remittances it can safely be said labor migration is an important development phenomena in Bangladesh. However, both the legal and most commonly used definition of trafficking in Bangladesh only refers to the trafficking of women and children. Unfortunately, this ignores the issue of labor trafficking which affects both men and women within and across Bangladeshi borders. It is imperative that both the developing and developed world work together in addressing the very real, existing and emerging trends in human trafficking simply because the globe has long benefitted from migration but the suffering of those exposed to the abuses of trafficking must be alleviated. Taking the above facts into consideration this study tries to examine the scope, patterns, and needs related to labor trafficking in Bangladesh. The methodology was designed to gather inputs from those migrants who were victims of labor trafficking, regular migrants, potential and departing migrants as well as government and non-government stakeholders. The respondents of the study gave important insights on the issue including, most importantly, labor trafficking situations and patterns, and pre-migration and post-migration service needs. The stakeholders recommended both policy reform and improved implementation of existing policies. The issue of labor trafficking must be seen from a rights perspective; in particular it is the right of every laborer to enjoy freedom from forced or bonded labor and to receive compensation as agreed upon for his/her work. The government, civil society and other relevant stakeholders must act quickly to ensure that Bangladesh is able to protect migrants and the ongoing viability of labor migration as a whole. [For full report please contact ACT program, Winrock International Bangladesh]
