More than 300 workers from Bangladesh currently live and work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are mainly employed in construction companies, and their employers emphasize their satisfaction with their commitment and adaptation to life in our country. It is estimated that this year, several hundred more workers from Bangladesh will come to work in Bosnian companies.
Muhamed Patoari came from Bangladesh two and a half years ago and got his first job in a company from Kalesija. He has been working for a construction company from Čelić for 13 months, together with 15 other compatriots. His colleagues, local workers of this company, praise him as a hard worker and point out that he learns our language very quickly.
MUHAMED PATOARI, Bangladesh
“There are a lot of people in Bangladesh, 180 million people. It’s good here, good wages, good company, everything is good here. The best, everything is the best, here the workers, everything is good, the boss is good, everything.”
Muhammad’s countryman, Husein Šabur, points out his satisfaction with the working conditions and salary, which is currently around 1,200 BAM. He would be paid three times less for the same job in Bangladesh. Workers from Bangladesh are provided free housing and food, and have the same employment status as domestic workers. The local workers of this company, who are mostly residents of Čelić, are aware of the new reality that in the coming years, due to the mass departure of our workers to the countries of Western Europe, more and more workers from the Far East will be in domestic companies.
IZET HOROZOVIĆ, employee of a construction company from Čelić
“When I was younger, I went around the world, walked, worked. It is normal for me that a foreigner comes to work with us, because I was also a foreigner, e.g. in Germany or Austria. But, for the most part, they fit well, they work well.”
Employers’ experiences with foreign workers are different, depending on which country these workers come from, but generally the experiences with Bangladeshi workers are positive.
JASMIN ČELIKOVIĆ, lawyer in a construction company from Čelić
“We would even recommend workers who come primarily from Bangladesh because they are very responsible, they are very resourceful. They learn our language, our customs very quickly and adapt very quickly to work together with our employees.”
Construction companies from the area of northeastern Bosnia have more and more contracted jobs, but also an increasingly pronounced problem with labor force that they cannot find on local labor exchanges. According to estimates, several hundred more workers from Bangladesh will come to Bosnia and Herzegovina this year.
