Wage Earners' Scheme introduced in 1974 to provide
incentives to the Bangladeshi nationals working abroad and remitting their
earnings to Bangladesh through official channel. The scheme got prominence when
the allocation of foreign exchange for importers at official rate was curtailed
due to a fall in the Foreign Exchange Reserves.
The scheme aimed at conversion
of remittances of the Bangladeshi workers at exchange rates corresponding
approximately to the open market rate. Importers facing shortage of foreign
exchange allocations tended to buy foreign exchange at rates higher than the
official rate from the wage earners' market, which was popularly known as the
secondary Foreign Exchange Market. Remittances by workers from abroad play a
significant role in minimizing dependence on aid for foreign exchange.
Remittances treated as earnings through 'manpower export' have become the
largest foreign exchange earner among the items in the Balance of Trade.
