Railway Employees Rally for Higher Bonus Calculation Limit, Restoration of Old Pension Scheme
Northeast Railway Employees’ Union stages protest on NFIR’s directives; demands ₹21,000 bonus calculation limit
Varanasi: The Northeast Railway Employees’ Union, Varanasi Division, organised a rally on the directives of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), demanding an increase in the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) calculation limit and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. A large number of railway employees participated in the rally and raised their voices in support of the demands.
The rally started from the divisional union office and passed through the DRM office, Diesel Lobby and Railway Hospital before reaching the divisional office. It was led by Central President Ramesh Mishra, while Divisional President Subhash Chandra Yadav and Divisional Secretary Arvind Kumar Singh coordinated the programme.
Employee leaders pointed out that the 78-day Productivity Linked Bonus is currently calculated on the basis of a prescribed wage ceiling of ₹7,000, resulting in a bonus payment of only ₹17,951. They demanded that the calculation ceiling be increased to ₹18,000, with Dearness Allowance included, taking the proposed limit to ₹21,000.
Central President Ramesh Mishra said railway employees had made significant contributions to the growth and progress of the Railways through their hard work, efficiency and dedication. He emphasised that employees should receive bonuses commensurate with their efforts and called for a revision of the long-standing calculation ceiling.
Working President Shyam Kumar Jha reiterated the demand for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.
Addressing the rally, divisional office-bearers and employee representatives, including Sanjay Tiwari, Rahul Kumar, Vivek Singh, Hemant Kumar, Rahul Singh, Sikandar Rai, Amarnath Singh, Abdul Akhtar, Brajesh Kumar, Shree Narayan Chaturvedi, Shambhu Prasad, Avinash Mishra, Rajnish Kumar, Barkat Ali, Jitendra Singh, Rajat Singh, Mohammad Javed, Kamlesh Kumar and Ayush Kumar, among others, warned that the agitation would continue in accordance with NFIR directives until the bonus calculation limit was revised.
The rally concluded with remarks by Divisional Spokesperson P. D. Srivastava and Haridwar Yadav.