09-12-2016 Daily Star Vocabulary

###- Corruption control–is it feasible or a fantasy?

1. feasible or fantasy - সম্ভবপর বা কাল্পনিক

2. social cohesion - সামাজিক সুসঙ্গতি,

3. political stability - রাজনৈতিক স্থিতিশীলতা

4. inter alia - অন্যান্য সবকিছুর মধ্যে

5. illicit transfers of corrupt money - দুর্নীতিগ্রস্ত অর্থের অবৈধ স্থানান্তর

6. plunder of resource - সম্পদ লুন্ঠন

7. fortress against corruption - দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে দুর্গ "

8. indispensable elements - অপরিহার্য উপাদান

9. reiterates the pledge - অঙ্গীকার পুনর্ব্যক্ত করা

10. good governance and curbing corruption -সুশাসন ও দুর্নীতি প্রতিরোধ

###- Migrants pay more, get less .... (editorial)

1. expatriate worker - প্রবাসী শ্রমিক

2. recruitment fees - নিয়োগ ফি

3. departure -প্রস্থান

4. semi-skilled category - আধা দক্ষ বিভাগ

5. oversee - তত্ত্বাবধান করা

6. obligatory - বাধ্যতামূলক

7. human rights violation - মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘন

8. mitigated - দমিত

FULL EDITORIAL.....

Migrants pay more, get less

Better regulations needed

According to a recent survey presented in the 16th ILO Asia and the Pacific regional meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Bangladesh scored poorly in terms of high migration costs and low earnings per month. It costs the average Bangladeshi expatriate worker USD 3,136 as recruitment fees while they earn an average of USD 347 per month. Seventy-five percent of the respondents claimed that they did not get paid on time and in many instances, they did not receive a contract before departure. Upon arrival, a large percentage of Bangladeshi workers found they had to work longer hours on a lower wage than promised. Indeed, the list of complaints is a long one and it has everything to do with the fact that neither the recruiters in Bangladesh nor the employers abroad were following ILO Convention 181, which outlines how the recruitment process should be.

Given that most of our labourers fall in the semi-skilled category and the long list of abuses local recruiters are known for, we need an elaborate national policy and regulations that will oversee the whole process of international recruitment. Had there been legally binding guidelines in place, workers could be saved from being charged excessive fees, commissions and so-called administrative costs that are the norm of recruiters presently.

We can take lessons from ASEAN countries which signed the Cebu Declaration providing the grounds for workers' protection from member countries by making it obligatory for each nation to live up to legal commitments for both receiving and sending countries. We need to work on policies that will ensure the rights of our workers both at home and the country they are going to. Otherwise, migrant workers will continue to be cheated and human rights violations will not be mitigated.