VZCZCXRO1737
RR RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDE
DE RUEHKA #1343 2280552
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160552Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4819
INFO RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9245
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8059
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1793
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0104
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 0042
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 0155
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 0075
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0160
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0956
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 0291
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT 0246
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0092
RUEHMK/AMEMBASSY MANAMA 0188
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0361
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0844
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0885
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS DHAKA 001343 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SCA/RA FOR JPFLEIDERER, G/TIP FOR MTAYLOR, SNEUMANN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM BG
SUBJECT: BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT REPORTS ON ACTIONS TAKEN 
AGAINST MIGRANT LABOR ABUSERS 
 
REF: DHAKA 1058 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Expatriate Welfare Ministry, which regulates 
migrant labor issues in Bangladesh, provided updated 
statistics to the Embassy on actions it has taken against 
labor recruitment companies over the past three months, from 
May to July 2007. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Bangladesh's labor export industry is managed by the 
Expatriate Welfare Ministry oversees the labor export market, 
and in particular by the Ministry's Bureau of Manpower 
Employment and Training (BMET).  Private "travel agencies" -- 
the commonly used term for migrant labor recruitment firms -- 
must register with and pay a deposit to the government.  BMET 
has the authority to de-license agencies, seize their 
deposits, and forward cases involving amounts in excess of 
the deposit to the Home Ministry for prosecution. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Between May and July, the Ministry, through BMET, 
seized the security deposits of two agencies, settled 63 
outstanding complaints against agencies, and accepted 94 new 
complaints.  In addition, 6.3 million taka ($90,000) has been 
recovered and returned to laborers, and three cases were 
forwarded to the Home Ministry for criminal investigation and 
prosecution. 
 
¶4. (SBU) These numbers indicate the GOB is stepping up 
enforcement and oversight.  During the preceding 64 months, 
from January 2002 to April 2007, the Ministry accepted 909 
complaints for further investigation and settled 695 
complaints.  During that period, it refunded to laborers 50.5 
million taka ($731,000).  Furthermore, many of the new cases 
have come since August 2006, when the GOB began a crack-down 
on agencies in the wake of a series of embarrassing 
revelations in the press about abuses in recruiting laborers 
for Malaysia. 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT.  The GOB is starting to make progress in 
cleaning up its labor export industry, though further 
measures are required.  Post is optimistic that, with the 
addition of the Expatriate Welfare Ministry to the GOB's 
anti-trafficking coordinating mechanisms, intra-government 
cooperation will be further enhanced. END COMMENT. 
PASI