Good News! Indian Railway employees to get over Rs 17,000 bonus ahead of festive season

Indian Railway bonus 2018: Ahead of the festive season, the railway employees this year are likely to get 78-day wages as a bonus.

Cabinet approves payment of Productivity Linked Bonus equivalent to 78 days’ wages for financial year 2017-18 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees. (PTI)

Indian Railway bonus 2018: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus equivalent to 78 days’ wages for the financial year 2017-18 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees. This comes as a good news for 11 lakh and 91 thousand railways staff ahead of the festive season. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in a press conference announced the Cabinet decisions in New Delhi today and said that the Cabinet has approved to disperse 78-day wages as a bonus to all the non-gazetted staff members of Railways. Addressing the media, Prasad said, "The productivity-linked bonus (PLB) to 11.91 lakh non-gazetted employees of the Railways will be dispersed amounting to 78-days PLB, comprising of the amount of 2,044.31 crores."  According to PLB, the bonus will work out to be around Rs 17, 951 per employee for 78 days, Prasad said.

#Cabinet approves payment of Productivity Linked Bonus equivalent to 78 days’ wages for financial year 2017-18 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.@RailMinIndia @rsprasad @OfficeOfRSP pic.twitter.com/92KGYUcy5t

— PIB India (@PIB_India) October 10, 2018

The Cabinet meeting was held at PM Modi's residence on Wednesday. The Railway Board had earlier proposed 78-day wages as the productivity-linked bonus (PLB) for its employees for 2017-18 after detailed discussions with rail unions, and the proposal got approved by the Cabinet today. All-India Railwaymen's Federation General Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra was quoted as saying that the 78-day bonus will be announced next week as employees expect it during the festive season. It motivates the employees to improve the financial position of the public transporter, he added. It is a significant decision as assembly elections are due in five states this year. Besides, the general elections also round the corner. The government is slated to announce the bonus in the next few days after Cabinet approval. About Productivity-linked bonus (PLB) 2018 • PLB will be paid to about 11.91 lakh non-gazetted railway employees before the Dussehra festival • This does not include the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel • The bonus of Rs 17, 951 will be given per employee • This is the seventh year in a row that 78-days' wages are given as PLB to railway employees • The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of bonus is Rs 7,000 per month • The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days • The Railways expect that the PLB would serve as an incentive and result in motivating a large number of employees, particularly those involved in operations, to improve their productivity and ensure safety, speed and service for customers