The Coronavirus outbreak has destroyed the overseas labour market, triggering an economic crisis in the country.
Experts said this deadly virus has already emerged as a global threat, which will have a huge impact on the country’s remittance inflow.
They said the virus has spread to different countries of the world including in the Middle East, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and the USA.
As a result, nearly 5,00,000 Bangladeshi expatriates have returned in over the last three months which may create a negative effect in the flow of remittance, they informed.
Of them, many of the returnees have faced different difficulties in the country to run their families as they have no earning, they said, while adding that this large number of returnees is likely to add pressure on government efforts in tackling the virus outbreak in the country.
On the other hand, many expatriates passed critical time abroad after different businesses were closed due to the shutdown.
Economists said the documented workers are being provided with basic wages while the undocumented ones are getting nothing at all.
Many of the documented workers fear job loss as the world is faced with a global recession, they added
On the other hand, thousands of Bangladeshi expatriates who came home on leave and those who were waiting to fly back after securing work visas are not being able to join work abroad as the destination countries have imposed travel bans in the face of the pandemic, now threatening to cause a global recession, they informed.
However, almost 12 million expatriate Bangladeshis live in different countries.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the coronavirus pandemic could trigger a global economic crisis, destroying up to 25 million jobs around the world if governments do not act fast to shield workers from the impact.
Eminent economist, Zahid Hussain told Bangladesh Post, “The outbreak of the coronavirus in the world has dealt a heavy blow to the global economy, which has already affected remittance inflow in Bangladesh.”
“Bangladesh expatriates have faced many challenges abroad as coronavirus has broken down all activities of the world,” he added.
He mentioned that most of the unskilled workers of Bangladesh who work in the Middle-East countries anticipate losing jobs as many companies have temporarily closed while many small businessmen are passing a critical time for the coronavirus.
On the other hand, many expatriates have returned to Bangladesh while many who had registered to travel abroad for work cannot travel now as visas are not being issued by most of the countries.
Such a situation, of course, would have a negative impact on the economy, he added.
The government should support them during the crisis and manage jobs for them through diplomatic discussion as expatriates are returning from different countries especially Middle-East for various reasons including visa complications, he mentioned.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the government has taken up a special plan for expatriates who have already come, and will come forward.
The employment situation in oil-dependent countries, including Saudi Arabia, may not be the same in the future, he said adding that, the government has already started working to send workers to alternative labor markets.
He said oil prices have fallen in the Middle East, which will reduce the economic activities of many countries.
The government will give a special loan to expatriates who came back to the country, Momen said, while adding, we will give them skills training so that they get good jobs, or become entrepreneurs themselves.
About the impact of coronavirus, Bangladesh Bank executive director and spokesperson Md Serajul Islam told Bangladesh Post, “Remittance is more or less a normal process. Now the economic downturn is going on all over the world. The workers are coming back. This will have an impact on remittances.”
He hoped that remittances would increase if the situation returned to normal.
However, the country’s remittance inflow witnessed a rapid fall to hit a record 31-month low in April as expatriates have faced many challenges abroad such as Coronavirus.
The remittance stood at $1.08 billion last month, the lowest inflow in 31 months since September, 2017.
The inflow was $856 million in September 2017.
In April 2019, this figure was $1.43 billion. Bangladeshi expatriates sent home $1.60 billion in July, $1.44 billion in August, $1.48 billion in September, $1.64 billion in October, $1.55 billion in November and $1.69 billion in December in 2019, as well as $1.64 billion in January, $1.45 billion in February and $1.28 billion in March in 2020 respectively.
