Bonus to Central Government employees : JCM(Staff Side) memorandum to 7th CPC

Bonus to Central Government employees : JCM (Staff Side) memorandum to 7th CPC

17.6.Bonus

The evolution of Bonus has been dealt with by the V CPC. We therefore are not reiterating those developments.

17.6.2. In our view, since Productivity Linked Bonus has been granted on the basis of a bilateral agreement, this is out of the purview of review of any commission.

17.6.3. It is only the Adhoc Bonus to those Central Government employees who are not covered by any productivity Linked Bonus agreements which is being reviewed by us in this chapter and to suggest the measures which should be taken to evolve an appropriate Bonus to such employees.

 17.6.4. A Group of Officers under the Chairmanship of Shri. Bazle Karim, the then secretary (Co-ordination) in Cabinet Secretariat was set up to consider the long pending demand for grant of Bonus to those Central Government employees who were not covered by the PLB Schemes. This group in their report expressed the view that the Government Departments constitute a single infrastructure for economy as a whole and felt that there should not be any sense of discrimination resulting in demoralization among them as a group when the service conditions were uniform all along. The Group suggested the evolution of PLB Scheme for Central Government employees as a whole. They also suggested that pending evolution of a single scheme of Bonus for all employees, the remaining employees who were not covered by the PLB were to be paid exgratia (Adhoc) Bonus equal to 15 days salary in 1982-83

17.6.5. The report of this group has not been published. It was not given even to the VCPC on demand. The Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, however, could supply only an extract from the said report alongwith their memorandum to the V CPC.

17.6.6 Even to get the Adhoc Bonus equal to pay of 15 days salary in 1982-83, leaders of the Confederation had to start an indefinite fast which lasted for 7 days when the Government sanctioned Adhoc Bonus equal to 15 days salary.

17.6.7. The number of days for which Adhoc Bonus has been paid to Central Government Employees not covered by PLB Scheme since 1982-83 is indicated in the following table:

Year/s	No. of days
1982-83	15 days
1983-84	18 days
1984-85 &1985-86	23 days
1986-87	25 days
1987-88 to 1989-90	27 days
1990-91 to 1993-94	30 days
1994-95 to 2013-14	30 days.

 17.6.8. The Confederation’s representatives had been pressing the demand for evolution of PLB Schemes on the basis of parameters framed by the Government after discussion in the respective departmental councils. But so far the Government has not been able to frame these parameters. This item is still pending in the agenda of National Council JCM.

17.6.9. The staff side had demanded increase in Adhoc Bonus on the basis of increases In PLB Schemes every year and that was why the Adhoc Bonus from 15 days salary during 1982-83 was increased to 30 days salary in year 1994-95. For last 20 years no further increase has been allowed.

17.6.10. The V CPC recommendation that the Adhoc Bonus Schemes should be replaced by a Productivity Linked Bonus to be evolved by each department in consultation with experts in the field and the departmental council of JCM within a period of 9 months remains on paper because Government have not issued the Notification to this effect for last 16 years.

In the meantime the Sixth Pay Commission has made a sweeping suggestion that the Adhoc Bonus Scheme should cease immediately and be replaced by what they have called PRIS-Performance Related Incentive Scheme.

17.6.11. Since this Performance Related Incentive Scheme recommended by VI CPC in their Chapter 2.5 (pages 144-157) still remains to be considered by the Government in consultation with the Staff Side of National Council of JCM. the Adhoc Bonus is also continuing.

17.6.12. We are opposed to the PRIS and Government too does not appear to be in a mood to consider and implement it, we propose that VII CPC may recommend that all departments initiate negotiations in their Departmental Councils to evolve an appropriate productivity linked bonus scheme after consulting experts in the field within a period of one year from the date, the Report of VII CPC is submitted to the Government. Pending finalization of such PLB Schemes the Adhoc Bonus equal to the average increase in the number of days sanctioned under the PLB Scheme may be granted and ensure that under no condition, the number of days be less than 31.

17.6.13. Presently the PLB and adhoc bonus are calculated on the deemed provision that one’s total emoluments is only Rs. 3500/-. This is an absolutely irrational stipulation and must be removed. We request that the Commission to recommend to the Government to remove the said stipulation and grant the bonus on the basis of the actual emolument of the employee.

Source: Staff side NC/JCM