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The Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) has sent out a letter to all DHI Owned and Controlled companies saying that this year the annual two-month bonus will not be given. The bonus would have been for 2020.
This is in line with what the nation is going through with the pandemic and its impacts.
DHI companies’ employees are eligible for a two-month bonus linked to financial and non financial targets that include revenue, profitability and costs incurred. The bonus is based on the the basic pay.
Most of the companies are usually able to meet these targets and so a two-month bonus is understood to be a given for most DHI Companies’ employees including DHI itself.
The only exceptions are when companies incur losses or cannot perform well enough where there is either no bonus or only around half is given in some years. These would be for companies like Druk Air, Dungsam Cement and NRDCL in some years.
This will be the first time that DHI companies are not taking the annual bonus since the inception of DHI in 2007.
With 8,086 DHI companies’ employees not taking the bonus it will mean more revenue for the government. The bonus savings come to around Nu 380 mn which is the budgeted amount.
A DHI official explained that every year not the entire 380 mn is given out as it is based on the performance of the company though the majority of the amount is paid out.
Apart from the savings for the government the move will also go out as a sign of solidarity with many fellow citizens who have lost jobs and income due to the pandemic.
DHI Owned companies are Bhutan Power Corporation, Bhutan Telecom, Druk Air Corporation, Druk Green Corporation, Natural Resource Development Corporation, Thimphu Techpark, Construction Development Corporation, Wood Craft Center, State Mining Corporation and Koufuku International.
DHI Controlled companies where it has a majority stake are Bank of Bhutan, Dungsam Cement Corporation, Dungsam Polymers and State Trading Corporation of Bhutan.
DHI has also requested DHI linked companies where it has minority shares to also not give out bonuses at such a time. However, here the respective boards will make the final decision.
DHI Linked companies are Bhutan Board Product Ltd, Bhutan Ferro Alloys, Bhutan National Bank, Penden Cement Authority, Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan, Druk Metallurgy and Azista Bhutan Healthcare.
