PHP sets example giving staff 11 bonuses

PHP Family, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the country, has provided 11 bonuses equal to the basic salary to each of its 10,000 employees on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

The company has been sharing a portion of its profits with employees for the past six years.

The PHP's move is unique considering the fact that during the pandemic, many organisations have been laying off employees and reducing salaries to cope with the economic downturn, said company's staff.

The company provided six bonuses in 2020, 10 in 2019 and 8 in 2018, according to the PHP officials. 

"The bonuses are a continuation of the PHP Family's corporate social responsibility initiatives. My father, the group's Chairman Sufi Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, declared the bonuses as one regular Eid bonus and 10 special Covid bonuses," Akhtar Parvez, director of PHP Family, told The Daily Star.

"The PHP Family has also been suffering from a significant decrease in sales since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020 but we know that our staff are also suffering in the pandemic situation," he said.

"We have greatly reduced other costs of our office. By the grace of God, we have been able to share with employees a portion of the company's profits without having to go for job cuts," he said.

"We usually spend about Tk 14 crore as monthly salary of about 10,000 staff. This time around Tk 50 crore salary bonus has been paid on the occasion of Eid," said Mohammad Mohsin, managing director of PHP Family.

"For the last six years we have been trying to share a portion of the dividends with the staff. Before 2019, 6 to 7 bonuses were given every year. However, a maximum of 11 bonuses have been given this year," he said.

The PHP started its journey in 1999. It has 30 companies dealing in various sectors like steel, glass, aluminium, textile, electricity, financial services, agriculture, automobile and ship breaking.