In a major relief for nearly 11 lakh non-gazetted railway employees, the Union Cabinet on September 24 announced a performance-linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages. The Union Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The payment of the bonus will cost the central exchequer about Rs 1,866 crore, according to a PIB release.
In recognition of the excellent performance by the railway staff, the Union Cabinet approved “Rs 1865.68 crore to 10,91,146 railway employees”.
Every year, the Centre provides PLB to eligible employees before Durga Puja/Dussehra holidays.
Who are primarily covered under PLB?
The bonus will be paid to various categories of railway staff like track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guard), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsman, ministerial staff and other Group ‘C’ staff.
Besides railways, non-gazetted employees from the Department of Posts, Defence Production Units, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) also get PLB.
The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees to work towards improvement in the performance of the railways, according to the government.
Who are excluded from PLB?
Other central government employees, including gazetted officers and those not covered by a PLB scheme, receive a Non-Productivity Linked Bonus (Ad-Hoc Bonus) instead.
What can be the maximum PLB amount payable?
The maximum payable amount of PLB, equivalent to 78 days’ wages for each eligible railway employee, is Rs 17,951.
“The performance of railways in the year 2024-25 was very good. Railways loaded a record cargo of 1,614.90 million tonnes and carried nearly 7.3 billion passengers” it said.