78-day wages as bonus for railway staff: Govt

NEW DELHI: Railway employees across the country will get a productivity-linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78-day wages, the Union Cabinet decided on Wednesday.

This is for the sixth consecutive year that productivity-linked bonus is being given to railway employees, information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said. The bonus for financial year 2018-19 would benefit 11 lakh employees and would cost the exchequer Rs 2,024.40 crore, he said.

This is for the sixth consecutive year that productivity-linked bonus is being given to railway employees. Payment of the bonus motivates employees to improve the performance and enhances the productivity levels further, an official statement said.

However, according to news agency PTI, railway unions were not happy with the benefit and said they had expected an enhanced bonus.”we had discussed this issue with the Railway Board and had requested for an enhancement in the number of days for payment of PLB on account of enhanced productivity given by the railway employees,” a letter from the All India Railwaymen’s Federation addressed to the Railway Board chairman said.

“Railwaymen working under arduous conditions in all the weathers had expected some enhanced PLB this year, but unfortunately, that has not been done,” it added.

General secretary of All India Railwaymen’s Federation Shiva Gopal Mishra said though they appreciate the efforts made by the Ministry of Railways for enhanced PLB to railwaymen the ministry should consider “suitable compensation” to railwaymen for the performance they have given last year.