The Ministry of Labour and Employment has recommended that the basic monthly wage of a "highly skilled" worker of the soap and cosmetics industry inside divisional cities and city corporations be Tk 8,260.

It has also recommended 50 percent of it as house rent allowance, Tk 1,500 as medical allowance and Tk 1,000 transport allowance.

This will take the minimum salary to Tk 14,890, said a notification of a Minimum Wages Board of the ministry dated September 2.

In case of those in district towns and remaining areas, the basic wage and medical and transport allowances are the same.

However, Tk 3,304 was recommended as the house rent allowance, for which the minimum wage would stand at Tk 14,064.

In a similar manner, a "skilled worker" in divisional cities and city corporation areas swill get a minimum wage of Tk 12,085 whereas in district towns and other areas Tk 11,446.

For "semi-skilled" workers, it is Tk 10,795 and Tk 10,242 and "unskilled" workers Tk 10,000 and Tk 9,500 respectively.

Apprentices will get Tk 7,500 per month for a probationary period of three months and for a possible extended period of another three months if the level of skill cannot be determined.

Objections and recommendations have been sought in writing to the chairman of the Minimum Wages Board within 14 days of the gazette's publication.

The board held many meetings with the company owners and workers and did not want to set such a low wage, an official of the board, on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star yesterday.