Before Dussehra, the Center announced a bonus for the 2019-2020 year that will benefit 30 lakh of unpublished employees. The total financial implication of this will be Rs 3,737 crore. Both the productivity-linked bonus and the non-productivity-linked bonus have been approved, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday, announcing the decisions approved by the Union Cabinet.
Also read: Cabinet Announces Bonus for Central Government Employees – All You Need to Know
The announcement brings joy among government employees as uncertainty loomed over the announcement of the bonus this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These bonuses are generally announced before Dussehra each year. But since there was no announcement until Wednesday, government employees feared they would not receive bonuses this time.
The bond will be disbursed in a single installment and before Vijaya Dashami, said the Union minister.
Beneficiaries include 17 lakh unpublished employees in business establishments such as railways, post offices, EPFO, ESIC who will get their productivity-linked bonus and another 13 lakh government employees who will get their non-productivity bonus.
The Federation of Indian Railways, a railway personnel union, had called a two-hour nationwide strike on October 22, demanding immediate disbursement of the bond. The union said the government should not deny the 2019-20 bonus, citing this year’s pandemic.
“If middle-class people have money in their hands during the festive season, the demands will rise on the scoreboard,” said the minister explaining the decision.
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