Bangladeshi migrants find Romania far from European dream

Highlights:

• 18,000 Bangladeshis went to Romania in last 2.5yrs 
• 6,000 migrants in currently in Romania 
• Agencies charge Tk6 to Tk8 lakh
• Minimum gross salary €605
• Romania to hire 1 lakh foreign workers this year

Romania, a high-income country in the European Union, has become a destination where Bangladeshi migrants are increasingly finding their European dreams crushed by false promises and deception by those who had sent them there.

Shafiqur Rahman (not his real name), 27, moved to Romania in February on a contract of €605 as monthly salary at a construction company. However, after arriving, he soon came to realise he had fallen prey to fraud as no such company existed in Romania. Later, he managed another job for €484 euro. 

"It would have been difficult to live here without the help of another Bangladeshi," Shafiqur Rahman told TBS over the phone recently.

Similar stories abound among Bangladeshi migrants in Romania, who are often being forced to move to other European destinations like Italy, France, and Germany.

"I have handled at least 200 cases where Bangladeshi workers in Romania did not find the jobs or the salaries they were promised," said Islam Mohamed Rafiqul, president of the Chamber of Commerce Romania-Bangladesh.

Consequently, not only Bangladeshis but also many Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese immigrants are fleeing Romania to neighbouring countries, he added.

Many Romania-bound migrants are being cheated by private agencies as they charge Tk6 to Tk8 lakh per migrant, whereas the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL), a government-run agency, takes only Tk2.31 lakh, according to recruiting agencies. 

However, BOESL sent only 200 migrants to Romania since it started sending migrants to the country this year, while about 18,000 Bangladeshis have moved into the country in the last two-and-half years, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania.

BOESL started sending migrants to Romania only this year, Dr Mallick Anwar Hossain, managing director (additional secretary), BOESL, told TBS. 

"It takes time to promote a market and we focus more on bringing in more remittances by sending out fewer workers," Dr Mallick said. 

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Romania has blamed recruiting agencies for the plight of the migrants, a charge the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) has denied.

"There are people who go to Romania with the aim of moving to another country, which the recruiting agencies encourage. They process any file that pays more," Bangladesh Ambassador to Romania Md Daud Ali told TBS.

Blaming the agencies for not clearing salary details beforehand, the ambassador said, "The gross salary is mentioned in the contract. But when they arrive, they get a net salary, which is maybe 500 Lei (Romanian currency) less."

Regarding migrants not getting promised work, he said that this happens when recruiting agencies do not verify the demand letters of the respective employers through legal channels before sending out the workers.

Ambassador Ali said his office has written to the Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), asking it to take action against such agencies.

Sirajul Amin, CEO of the recruiting agency Infinity HCM told TBS, "We have sent around 500 workers to Romania without any complaints." 

There are only four or five professional agencies in Bangladesh like his company, he claimed. 

"Many Bangladeshis who went to Romania 4-5 years ago have started taking workers there through brokers. They collect approval from BMET, using Bangladeshi agencies," he said.

Because of this, agency involvement is very little and migrants do not even know their names, he added

Ali Haidar Chowdhury, secretary general, Baira, told TBS that fleeing Romania has become a trend and solely blaming recruiting agencies for this tendency is unfair.  

"Many who flee have various links in neighbouring countries," he added. 

"We are not claiming that all agencies are good. However, if there is a complaint against the agency concerned, it can be reported to BMET," he further said.

Number of migrants

Although around 18,000 Bangladeshis went to Romania in the last two and half years, the Bangladesh Embassy could not provide the exact number currently residing in Romania.

The number of Bangladeshis is not more than 6,000 at this moment, as the Chamber of Commerce Romania-Bangladesh assumes.

A few who stayed

Faijul Islam of Mymensingh, who went to Romania in 2019, said he had changed his job several times but never faced any payment issues with his employers. "I am able to send Tk60,000 home every month." 

According to him, 20% of the Bangladeshis who came to Romania are doing well, but the rest are not doing well and are moving to other countries.

Daniel Stanescu, vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce Romania-Bangladesh, who recently visited Dhaka, told TBS, "Romanian people go to Germany, Italy or other EU countries where the salary is better. In the same way, foreign workers also want to get better salaries and they try to leave Romania."

He also denied the blanket allegation that Romanian employers do not pay as per contracts.

However, he acknowledged that there is a nexus between some Romanian employers and Bangladeshi recruiting agencies. 

A reason behind the salary being lower than specified in the contract is that Bangladeshi agencies get commissions from employers, he said. 

Md Shahidul Alam, director general, BMET, told TBS, "We have not received specific complaints against any agency. Rather, we are receiving complaints against Bangladeshi workers who have fled."

Romanian office leaves Dhaka

Meanwhile, the Romanian temporary office in Dhaka has been relocated to the Romanian Embassy in New Delhi, where it will continue to handle visa applications for Bangladeshi citizens, according to an official statement of the authority issued on 9 April.

People concerned said a possible reason behind the relocation is that Romania is trying to reduce the number of visas issued. 

On the other hand, a source in Romania has alleged to TBS that the Romanian temporary office – located in the BMET building – relocated because it had been pressured to issue additional visas by some BMET officials.

However, denying the allegations, BMET DG Shahidul Alam told TBS, "I myself have never entered their office. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can clarify why the office relocated."

In order to elicit further details, phone calls were made to officials concerned of the Eastern Europe wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But they went unanswered.