Where do construction workers go once megaprojects are finished?

Mehedi Hassan (not his real name), a former construction worker at the N8 Expressway — the country's first expressway, linked to the Padma Bridge — was recently pulling a rickshaw in Dhaka. 

A diploma degree-holder from a Khulna-based polytechnic institution, Mehedi, while working under the N8 Expressway project, tried to go abroad. However, he was cheated by some unscrupulous brokers, leaving him in debt instead. 

"I am pulling a rickshaw because I need the money for my six-month-old baby's treatment. I looked for a job at new construction projects, but they did not offer wages any better than the daily income of a rickshaw-puller," he said.

Teams of construction workers, wearing identical vests, helmets and boots, toiling for days and nights on some giant infrastructural development project, has become a common sight in Bangladesh over the last decade.  

As many projects have now been completed or are nearing completion, thousands of such workers now find themselves out of a job. Many of them have since attempted to go abroad as migrant workers, but without a proper channel to find overseas employment, they are often falling prey to unscrupulous agents. 

Experts believe these workers are prime candidates for employment as skilled and semi-skilled workers abroad - especially given their knowledge and experience of megaprojects - but local agencies appear to prefer unskilled workers to send abroad because they are easier to exploit. 

Dr MD Nurul Islam, a former director at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET), said Bangladesh is missing an opportunity to utilise these skilled construction workers. 

"Many workers, even if they are highly skilled, fail to get jobs at new construction sites because there is no employment exchange system, like in many developed countries. No public or private companies practise this. There are surplus labourers in Bangladesh, which is a big problem," said Nurul. 

In the southwest corner of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation several workers were recently erecting pillars for the Dhaka Elevated Expressway alongside the Tejgaon-Kamlapur rail track. 

Alamgir Hossian, a crane operator at the site, had previously worked at the Meghna-Gumti Bridges project between 2016 and 2019. Alamgir started working under the Elevated Expressway project this year after a three-year break. 

"In those three years, I ran a business in my local area to gather enough money to go to Dubai. But I failed. At least three of my co-workers from the Meghna-Gumti project have already secured jobs in Dubai," said Alamgir.

Local workers at the megaprojects usually work under daily contracts and can earn Tk550-1,000 in 10-hour working shifts. Workers with five or more years of experience earn the highest wage.  

Mohammad Kabir Hossian, another crane operator, said he worked under the Padma Bridge and Dhaka Metro Rail projects before joining work at the Elevated Expressway. 

"Skill is important, but maintaining good connection with the brokers is a prerequisite to securing jobs at the construction sites," Kabir said, explaining that the "brokers" are interpreters who can communicate with the engineering firms that are mostly managed by foreigners. 

Nurul Islam believes that the construction workers under the megaprojects such as the Padma Bridge, Karnaphuli Tunnel, Matarbari Power Plant, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's third terminal and others, have the necessary practical knowledge and experience to compete for more skilled overseas jobs. 

"I would give priority to a worker of the megaprojects than an aspirant migrant worker having a certificate of vocational training for an overseas job because the first one is really skilled in terms of international standards. They could earn more remittance than an unskilled worker," Nurul said. 

Islam said there is a huge demand for skilled masons, plumbers, carpenters, welders, rod binders and heavy-duty operators (crane, excavator operators) in the Middle East and the developed countries. However, there is no reliable source of information, especially recruitment notices for skilled workers. 

Recruiting agencies could gather the information and post advertisements in the news media. Bangladesh's embassies abroad could also gather the information and convey it to the relevant authorities at the local level. 

"Unfortunately, none of the relevant agencies have done this properly," Nurul said. 

He specifically criticised private agencies. "Private agencies prefer unskilled workers because they can earn more from them. At the same time, the agencies do not need to take responsibility for the unskilled workers."

Sending skilled workers abroad actually involves less hassle. Often, foreign recruiters bear most of the travel expenses, leaving little scope for the brokers to exploit the migrants. 

"And skilled workers can not only earn more remittance but also uplift the country's image," Nurul said.      

Currently, skilled workers cover only 16% of overall manpower export from Bangladesh.

"If the skilled construction workers can go abroad through proper channels, the number would be more than 50%," Nurul added.