7th Pay Commission: 12 lakh railway employees to get bonus. Check details

The Union Cabinet has approved the payout of a 78-day bonus to almost 1.2 million non-gazetted railway employees in anticipation of Dussehra. A PIB release states that this performance-linked bonus (PLB) will be distributed among a range of railway staff members, including track maintainers, loco pilots, train managers (guards), station masters, supervisors, technicians, technician helpers, pointsmen, ministerial staff, and other Group C staff. 

The maximum amount an eligible railway employee can get, depending on their salary is Rs 17,951, the government statement stated.

“The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees for working towards improvement in the performance of the Railways,” the government notification said.

The government release stated that nearly 12 lakh railway employees are eligible to receive the annual PLB payment before the Dusshera holidays. The total cost of these payments to the central exchequer is estimated to be around Rs 2,028 crore.

“This year also, PLB amount equivalent to 78 days’ wages is being paid to about 11.72 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees,” the release stated.

The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days.

“The performance of Railways in the year 2023-2024 was very good. Railways loaded a record cargo of 1588 million tonnes and carried nearly 6.7 billion passengers,” the release added.

“Many factors contributed to this record performance. These include improvement in infrastructure due to infusion of record Capex by the Government in Railways, efficiency in operations and better technology etc,” it further said.

The Indian Railways Employee Federation (IREF) recently sent a letter to the government requesting that their annual PLB be calculated based on the 7th Pay Commission instead of the 6th Pay Commission.

In the letter, Sarvjeet Singh, National General Secretary of IREF, emphasized that the current PLB is determined using a minimum salary of Rs 7,000 per month from the 6th Pay Commission.

He pointed out that the minimum salary under the 7th Pay Commission has increased to Rs 18,000, which railway employees have been receiving since January 1, 2016.

Performance of Indian Railways

According to the government, the performance of Indian Railways has been attributed to various factors such as enhancements in infrastructure, increased efficiency in operations, and the implementation of advanced technology. These improvements have led to the railways loading a record cargo of 1,588 million tonnes and transporting approximately 6.7 billion passengers.

In the month of October last year, 11,07,346 railway employees received a Performance Linked Bonus (PLB) totaling Rs 1,968.87 crore. This bonus was awarded after the railways achieved a cargo record of 1,509 million tonnes and transported nearly 6.5 billion passengers.