The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The minimum daily wage rate will be increased to Nu 450 from the earlier rate of Nu 125. This is in line with the government’s pledge to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots. The government noted that with the continuous advancement in the country, the price rates of commodities are rising.
During the 12th sitting, 3rd Session of National Assembly(NA), during the Question Hour session, Member of Parliament (MP) Rinzin Jamtsho of Kengkhar-Weringla questioned the Prime Minister(PM) to inform the House on the matter.
In response, the PM said that though an exact time cannot be announced for the new wage rate to come into effect, but he highlighted on the importance and the need for the change in the minimum daily wage rate. PM mentioned that further research shall be conducted with the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR), to make a decision on the significant matter.
“After the study, we will learn whether the minimum wage rate should be increased to Nu 450 or more,” PM said.
According to the household standards, each family’s expenditure is Nu 320 per day, and according to the inflation rate, the wage rate is only around Nu 170-Nu 180 per day.
PM said that the increase in the wage rate will never cause damages, but it would rather boost the economy because with the increase in the wage rate, there is a high chance of a rise in the productivity of the people, and ultimately enable the economy to thrive.
“When the country graduates from the least developing country category in 2023, if we decline to increase the minimum daily wage rate, it may lead to the growth of discrepancies between the country’s economic growth and the poor people of the country,” PM said.
PM concluded that taking the knowledge of globalization in mind, the government has come up with an amount in a conference but to make it more appropriate, the government has made a proposal to the World Bank to perform an in-depth analysis for a more appropriate minimum wage rate.
