The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit said on Saturday that it saw a fall in the migration of workers going abroad for jobs in 2024 compared with 2023.
Analysing the government statistics on migration, the organisation unveiled its migration trend report at a press conference held at the National Press Club.
Referring to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training data, the RMMRU said that 9,06,355 men and women migrated abroad for employment from January to November this year while the total number of migrant workers was 13,05,453 in 2023.
鈥業f the current trend of migration continues, the total number of migrant workers in this year could reach around 10,00,000 which would be approximately 30.80 per cent lower compared to 2023,鈥� said RMMRU founding chair Tasneem Siddiqui.
She also said that the number of total women migrant workers also fell sharply this year.
Between January and November, 54,696 women migrated abroad for employment, 6.03 per cent of total migrant workers, which was the lowest rate of female migration in the past decade, excluding the Covid-19 period.
Compared to 2023, female participation in migration has decreased by 22 per cent up to November 2024, said Tasneem.
Tasneem marked that uncertainties regarding decent work environments were discouraging women from seeking overseas employment while the political unrest in July and August affected the total migration.
According to the RMMRU report, labour migration was suspended in several countries, including Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives.
Labour migration to Italy was halted due to forged documents while the application process was disrupted because of a server failure in Serbia, said Tasneem.
She mentioned that 97 per cent of migrant workers went to only 10 countries in the past five years while 90 per cent went to only six countries this year 鈥� 60 per cent in Saudi Arabia, 10.30 per cent in Malaysia, 7.56 per cent in Qatar, 5.76 per cent in Singapore, 5.20 per cent in the UAE and 1.54 per cent in Jordan.
Analysing the trend of remittance Tasneem expressed her hope that the total remittances in 2024 were projected to reach聽 $26.4 billion, which would be approximately 32.54 per cent higher than the previous year.
She mentioned that trust in banking sector and patriotism of the migrant workers would be the causes behind the increase.
RMMRU suggested taking some initiatives to establish good governance in the immigration process, such as allocating at least 1 per cent of the national budget in the migration sector, steps to ensure security for women migrant workers, ensuring proper training, and ensuring accountability for the recruiting agencies and others.