Bangladesh to send 45k maids to S'pore

SINGAPORE will recruit 45,000 Bangladeshi domestic workers in a boost for the impoverished country's labour export sector after jobs dried up in the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia, an official said on Sunday.

Singaporean recruiting firms agreed on the number following talks in Dhaka last week, director of the government's Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) Nurul Islam told AFP.

'They want some 45,000 maids in a year. We shall train the maids and start sending them to Singapore by the end of this year,' Ms Islam said. 'It's a very good news for us. It comes as our traditional markets such as the Middle Eastern countries and Malaysia have yet to ride out the impact of the global recession.' MORE