State-Owned Enterprises, SOEs, will have to wait for a Cabinet decision regarding their Pay Revision. Talking to BBS, the finance minister said that he alone cannot make a unilateral decision on the matter. The minister said that pay revisions for SOEs will be treated the same as other pay revisions in the past. Meanwhile, the 13 SOEs are waiting for directives from the finance ministry. Most SOEs are worried that they will not be able to afford the pay hike without the government’s financial support.
The 13 state-owned enterprises are Bhutan Broadcasting Service, Bhutan Development Bank, Bhutan Duty-Free Limited, Bhutan Livestock Development Corporation, Bhutan Lottery, Bhutan Post, Farm Machinery Corporation, Food Corporation of Bhutan, Green Bhutan Corporation, Kuensel Corporation, National Cottage and Small Industries Bank, National Housing Development Corporation, and the National Pension and Provident Fund.
The chief executive officers of the 13 SOEs are waiting for directives from the finance ministry.
Kuensel Corporation’s CEO said that they are worried the SOEs will be asked to provide the pay revisions in their own capacities.
Similarly, the CEO of Green Bhutan Corporation says that the organisation is struggling with funds and that they cannot pay for the revised salaries on their own.
On the other hand, the pension and provident fund’s CEO said that they can pay the revised salaries to its employees since the NPPF is not dependent on the government for its budget.
“If there are investment avenues to invest whatever contributions we collect, I think we can sustain. This is because of the amount of revenue we generate in a year, whereby our gross revenue is around Nu 4bn. From there we meet our own expenses like human resource costs and other operating expenses, so we are still comfortable,” said Dorji Penjor, chief executive officer of the National Pension Provident Fund.
Meanwhile, the housing development corporation’s CEO said that they would be able to provide a certain percentage, which will be less than the 50 per cent and above pay hike that civil servants will be getting.
The CEO of FCB says that the SoEs deserve the same pay hike as public servants.
Meanwhile, the CEOs of BDBL and Bhutan Post said that they will begin working on a budget if they receive directives from the finance ministry.
According to the finance minister, state-owned enterprises do not come under the Pay Revision Bill of Bhutan 2023.
“This is something that SOEs should be prepared to understand because this is not the first pay revision. And during every revision, how SOEs were treated, and what kind of revisions were given to state-owned enterprises, we need to follow the same practice and culture,” said Namgay Tshering, Finance Minister.
The minister added that socially mandated SOEs cannot become profit-bound organisations overnight.
He said that with due recognition of contributions made by SOEs to nation-building, the same salary revision for SOEs as in the previous pay revisions will be applied.
The finance minister said that he cannot make a unilateral decision and that the matter will be decided by the Cabinet.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Sherub Dorji
