Cabinet okays 78-day bonus for railwaymen post-facto

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its ex-post facto approval for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days wages for the financial year 2013-14 to all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.
However, railways had already given bonus to its 12.60 lakh employees without obtaining the mandatory sanction of the cabinet as Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda could not obtain the cabinet clearance earlier because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's other preoccupations and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's recent health problems.
The financial implication of payment of 78 days' PLB to railway employees has been estimated to be Rs 1063.38 crore.

The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB to eligible non-gazetted Railway employees is Rs 3500 per month and about 12.60 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees are likely to benefit from the decision.