The Minimum Wage Board has finalised its proposal of minimum monthly wages for the country's shrimp sector workers, recommending more than 51 per cent hike.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a gazette notification in this regard.
The ministry sought written objections or recommendations, if any, to be submitted to the wage board chairman within 14 days of publishing the notification.
In February, the government formed the wage board by appointing representatives from owners and workers to review the monthly minimum wages for the shrimp sector, which were last reviewed in 2015.
The government has categorised workers and employees of the shrimp sector in six and four grades respectively.
According to the gazette, a worker in grade-six would receive Tk 6,700 with basic payment fixed at Tk 4,200.
The provision of an annual increment of 5.0 per cent of the basic pay is also included. The government has fixed 35 per cent of the basic or Tk 1,470 as house rent for grade-six workers.
According to the gazette, a medical allowance of Tk 730 for workers of all grades has been fixed, while Tk 300 has been fixed as transport allowance.
An apprentice would receive a total of Tk 5,307 as monthly wage. A worker's apprentice period would be three months, and it could be extended for an additional three months, if his or her performance is not satisfactory.
The minimum monthly wage for a grade-one worker has been fixed at Tk 13,256 with Tk 9,056 as basic pay.
A grade-one employee would receive Tk 13,950 as minimum monthly wage with Tk 9,570 as basic. The other allowances would be the same as other workers.
In 2015, the government fixed Tk 4,419 as the minimum monthly wage for grade-six workers of the shrimp sector with Tk 2,940 as basic pay.
Besides, Tk 1,029 was set as house rent, Tk 300 as medical allowance, and Tk 150 as transport allowance.
According to industry insiders, shrimp farming is a key source of employment in the country's south-western coastal region, where 105 shrimp processing plants employ about one million people.
Bangladesh exported shrimp worth US$ 328.84 million in the fiscal year 2020-21. The EU is the largest importer of Bangladeshi shrimp.
