Railway Workers (Ramesh Pathania/Mint) As a Dussehra bonus, the railway's employees are expected to get 78-day wages, continuing the trend since the last six years.
The Railway Board has proposed 78-day wages as a productivity-linked bonus (PLB) for its employees for the year 2017-18, after detailed discussions with rail unions, and the proposal is likely to be approved by the Cabinet, as reported by NDTV.
The timing of the bonus is significant since the assembly elections of 5 states is just around the corner, with General Elections looming ahead too. Once the Cabinet approves it, the government is expected to announce it next week in the festive season.
National Federation of Indian Railwaymen General Secretary M Raghavaiah said: "Since the Railways has earned Rs 16,000 crore more than the last year's earnings and transported a record 1,161 million tonnes of freight this time, we had demanded an 80-day bonus. But finally, we agreed on 78 days." The bonus is said to be around 18,000 each.
The Railways expects 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.
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