The wages for workers and employees in the ayurvedic industry are set to increase 12 years after the last revision, with the minimum wage board finalising a draft proposal recommending a minimum monthly pay of Tk聽11,000 for the sector鈥檚 workers.
The board published the proposal in a gazette notification on June 23, seeking written objections or suggestions, if there is any, on the recommendation from the stakeholders in 14 days.
The last review of minimum wages in the ayurvedic industry took place in 2009, when the gross minimum monthly pay was set at Tk聽4,350.
The labour ministry formed the board to review the wages for the ayurvedic industry workers in June 2020 through appointing Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh director Sheeri Farhad as the representative of owners and Sadhona Oushodhaloy Ltd worker Chandrajit Burmon as the workers鈥� representative.
Later the owners鈥� and workers鈥� representatives withdrew their names from the board showing personal reasons and the ministry reformed the board through appointing Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh deputy director Md Mizanur Rahman as the owners鈥� representative and Sadhona Oushodhaloy Ltd worker Binod Chandra Bhowmik as the workers鈥� representative.
Bangladesh Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Association secretary general Mizanur Rahman on Saturday told 抖阴精品 that they were aware of the minimum wage board鈥檚 recommendation for the sector鈥檚 workers, but observed that the government had not include the trade body in the wage revision process.
鈥榃e do not understand why the government excluded the trade association鈥檚 representation from the wage negotiation process and appointed an employee of a company as the owners鈥� representative on the board who is not eligible for that role,鈥� he said.
Labour ministry additional secretary Md Jahangir Hossain said that the wage board was formed in 2020 and the trade association of the ayurvedic sector did not lodge any compliant with the ministry over the owners鈥� representative to the board.
The ministry would have looked into the issue if the Bangladesh Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Association filed any objection, he said.
According to the gazette notification, the board incorporated six categories for workers 鈥� highly-skilled, skilled-1, skilled-2, semi-skilled-1, semi-skilled-2 and unskilled 鈥� in the proposal.
For highly-skilled workers, the wage board proposed Tk聽19,250 as minimum monthly wage that includes Tk聽11,500 as basic pay, 50 per cent of the basic pay as house rent, Tk聽1,500 as medical allowance and Tk聽500 as travel allowance.
The wage for skilled-1 workers was proposed at Tk聽17,000 that includes Tk聽10,000 as basic pay and for skilled-2 workers the minimum gross pay at Tk聽14,600 with Tk聽8,400 as basic pay.
The wage for semi-skilled-1 workers was suggested at Tk聽13,100 with basic pay Tk聽7,400 and for semi-skilled-2 workers the gross pay was recommended at Tk聽12,200 with basic pay Tk聽6,800.
The minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers was proposed at Tk聽11,000 that includes Tk 6,000 as basic pay, 50 per cent of the basic as house rent, medical allowance Tk聽1,500 and travel allowance Tk聽500.
The board suggested monthly gross pay for the apprentice workers and employees at Tk 8,000.
Sector leaders said that there were more than one hundred ayurvedic medicine manufacturers across the country and about 30,000 workers and employees worked in the sector.
