The Quest for Decent Work: Issues and Challenges of Bangladeshi Migrant Workers towards Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to utilize the concept of decent work to critically examine the issues and challenges of Bangladeshi migrant workers towards Saudi Arabia. The specific focus is to understand the causes of decent work deficit and the barriers to decent work for Bangladeshi migrant workers towards Saudi Arabia. This study argues that absence of decent work practice makes Bangladeshi migrant workers vulnerable, that leads to violation of human and labour rights. In this regard, qualitative research approach had been incorporated that entailed thirty IDIs (In-Depth Interviews) and ten KIIs (Key Informant Interviews) to secure in-depth details understanding of Bangladeshi migrant worker’s situation from decent work perspective. The major findings of this study provide understanding of decent work standard and the precarity of Bangladeshi migrant workers, causes of decent work deficit, challenges of decent work deficit, and the consequences of the sponsor ship system. It appears that Bangladeshi migrant workers towards Saudi Arabia experience discrimination, low salary, exploitation and abuse, violation of human and labour rights requirements, unfreedom and coercion, and inadequate rights at work place, insufficient social security support and ineffective social dialogue. The fraudulent practices of labour migration intermediaries, ineffective and insufficient state policy, low socio-economic background of migrant workers, socio-economic hierarchy and socio-cultural barriers impede implementation of decent work agenda. Therefore, it is important to maintain standard labour market operating structure, standard labour contract, and standard bilateral agreement that ensure living wage, access to basic rights at work, protection against unemployment, freedom of movement, freedom of association and trade union and other human and labour rights components.