Control room to remain operational during Eid holidays to support expats

Dhaka: The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has announced that its dedicated control room will remain operational throughout the Eid holidays to ensure the welfare of Bangladeshi expatriates amid the ongoing conflict situation in the Middle East.

According to an official order signed on Monday, March 16, by Senior Assistant Secretary Rozlin Shahid Chowdhury, the control room will function 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until March 24. A total of 20 officials and 24 staff members will work in three shifts to maintain uninterrupted services.

The control room has been set up at the Expatriate Call Centre, Lift-7, Probashi Kallyan Bhaban, Eskaton, Dhaka. Migrant workers and their families can access support through the toll-free hotline 16135 (from within Bangladesh) and +8809610102030 (from abroad).

The ministry said the overall supervision of the control room will be carried out by Barrister Md. Golam Sarwar Bhuiyan, Director General of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board. Deputy Secretary Md. Hedayetul Islam Mondal, from the Employment-1 branch of the ministry, will serve as the focal point officer.

Officials assigned to the control room have been instructed to maintain close coordination with labor welfare wings in Bangladesh missions abroad, particularly in the Middle East, and to collect and report relevant information regularly in line with prescribed formats.

The control room was initially established on March 10 in response to the evolving conflict in the Middle East, with the aim of ensuring timely support and assistance for Bangladeshi expatriates.