Shafiqul borrowed 200,000 taka from a bank to finance his recruitment cost. He now owes 250,000.
We ask Chokder to tally how much he paid job agents through the three jobs he's had. If not for these hefty fees, he would have savings to support his family after his injury.
Recently, journalists doing follow-up stories about Covid-19 have been reaching us with similar questions. For convenience, we will put our responses here.
The general community is "saved" from Covid-19 only because migrant workers are made to pay the price for us: severe confinement, never mind mental wellbeing and medical complications.
Selim and Kibria, not paid for their previous jobs, are looking for new ones. They talk about inescapable demands for money from agents, supervisors and bosses.
Our intern explores the thorny question of upskilling. Do employers see benefit in that? Are benefits shared equitably between employers and employees?
Sharif wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest in his room rather than go to work. As many employers of migrant workers do, a fine was to be imposed for absence.
Why we don't reply to some student requests and a cheatsheet for students trying to write about migrant workers
A short explainer about how corrupted the recruitment system has become for migrant workers and the two key measures needed to reform the eco-system.
Employer and insurer objected to the compensation award. The case went to a 'labour court' hearing, and then to the High Court, the issues becoming technical along the way.
