Fight over railway bonus before 8th Pay Commission, letter to Railway Minister - Rs 17951 not Rs 46,159 received, employee unions gave complete update. railway bonus 2026 amount Rs 17951 or 46159 Rupees before 8th Pay Commission Employees Union MP Letter to Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railway Bonus: Many updates have come out on Diwali bonus for lakhs of railway workers across the country. For the last 10 years, railway employees have been given Rs 17 thousand 951 as 78 days’ PLB i.e. Productivity Linked Bonus, but this time the railway employees are not going to accept this amount. The central government has not yet announced the railway bonus, but different organizations of railway employees have demanded a bonus of Rs 46,159. On the other hand, Left leader and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas has also written a letter to the Railway Minister with this demand of the railway workers.

Bonus should be calculated on Rs 7,000, not Rs 18,000.

PLB equivalent to 78 days’ salary is given to railway employees every year, but it is calculated on the basis of minimum basic salary of Rs 7,000. It is calculated like this-

One day salary = 7,000 ÷ 30.41 = Rs 230.14
Now Bonus = 78 days salary = 230.14 x 78 = Rs 17,951

Ramesh Kumar, media in-charge of All India Railway Track Maintainer Group, argues that railway workers get salary on the basis of Seventh Pay Commission, then why the minimum salary of Rs 7,000 of Sixth Pay Commission is being made the basis for calculating the bonus.

Sarvjit Singh, General Secretary of IREF i.e. Indian Railway Employees Federation, says that instead the bonus should be calculated considering the minimum basic salary of Rs 18,000 of the 7th Pay Commission as the basis. If calculated like this,

One day salary = Rs 18,000 ÷ 30.41 = Rs 591.78
Railway Bonus = 78 days salary = 591.78 x 78 = Rs 46,159

Railway unions say that amidst inflation and increasing responsibilities, the capping of Rs 7,000 does not do justice to the employees. Despite continuous objections from railway union organizations, the amount of bonus is not increasing, hence there is a lot of resentment among the railway employees.

Rajya Sabha MP wrote a letter to the Railway Minister

Rajya Sabha MP and CPI(M) leader John Brittas has written a letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on the issue of railway bonus. In this letter, he has requested to increase the number of paid days and amend the calculation limit for the bonus for the financial year 2025-26.

According to the letter, railway employees currently get a bonus equal to 78 days’ salary, but the maximum limit of monthly salary for its calculation remains Rs 7,000 since 2013-14.

Citing the demand of labor organization CITU, John Brittas has appealed to increase the limit of bonus calculation to at least Rs 28,440 per month. This figure is said to be based on the assessment of minimum wage and dearness allowance.

He said that considering the time of festivals, the government should take a decision soon, so that the employees and their families can get financial relief.

Bonus increased from 2 to 3 times in Coal and SAIL, why is it stable in Railways?

Railway employees say that productivity linked bonus has been available in Coal India and Steel Authority of India too, but in the last 10 years it has increased by 2 to 3 times, whereas the bonus of Railways has remained stable.

The bonuses of Coal and SAIL employees are continuously increasing year after year. Last year, Coal India employees got a bonus of Rs 1.03 lakh and SAIL employees got about Rs 29,500. This year, there is talk of Coal India employees getting a bonus of Rs 1.10 lakh and SAIL employees Rs 40 thousand. In such a situation, there is dissatisfaction among the railway employees regarding this difference.

National President of Indian Railway Mazdoor Sangh, Pawan Kumar, says that the seventh pay is already implemented in the Railways, now the 8th pay is going to be implemented. In such a situation, getting bonus on the basis of the basic of the Sixth Pay Commission is sheer injustice. He said that the union is continuously putting pressure on the Railway Ministry and the Government of India to increase the ceiling in bonus calculation.

Government may announce bonus soon

The central government can announce the annual bonus of railway employees by next week. It is expected that a decision on this will be taken in the cabinet meeting. This time too, railway employees are likely to get 78 days’ bonus, but the question is whether the ceiling of Rs 7,000 is removed or not.