Railway Employees Bonus and 7th Pay Commission
Good news for millions of railway employees this Diwali as their bonuses are likely to shoot up significantly. Recently a delegation of railway employees met Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishanaw in New Delhi. Their main political demand is the revaluation of the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) using the 7th Pay Commission instead of the current 6th Pay Commission.
Calculating the minimum salary and the bonus of railway employees.
The basic pay structures of the Indian Railway employees under the 7th Pay Commission, as stated by Indian railway Employees However, the current bonus is worked out under the 6th Pay Commission and the minimum salary considered for the purpose is ₹7,000 per month.
The employees’ federation stated that this was unjust especially given the efforts that railway workers put in during the COVID-19 where they ensured that the railway services continued to run smoothly.
Current Bonus and the Need for New Approaches
Currently, railway employees are given a bonus of 78 days wages out of which the wages are ₹17,951. The federation, however, points out that the money stated does not represent the actual income of the employees, since the current calculation is done in accordance with the old wage structure. They have demanded the government to increase the bonus calculation on the basis of the 7th Pay Commission minimum pay that is ₹18,000.
Possible Financial Impact on Employees
If the government agrees to process the bonus based on the 7th Pay Commission This would translate into an extra ₹28,208 per employee in the year for the company. The federation believes that this revision will help railway employees celebrate Diwali with some more financial comfort.
It is to be noted that the railway employees are quite impatiently waiting for the government’s decision since it will definitively influence the railway staffs’ plans about the festival and their finances.
