8th Pay Commission: Productivity-Linked Bonus before Durga Puja? What employees want now, and from 8th CPC later

The first demand has come from the Joint Council of Postal Employees (JCPE), an umbrella of seven postal unions. It has written to the Secretary, Department of Posts, asking that PLB for 2025-26 be disbursed “on or before October 17, 2026”, which is the day when Durga Puja will commence this year, with Dussehra following on October 21.

“Durga Puja and Dussehra are among the most important festivals celebrated across different parts of the country and the festive period involves considerable additional expenditure for employees and their families,” the JCPE letter dated September 26 said.

It added that employees “are earnestly looking forward to receiving their PL Bonus for the year 2025-26 before the commencement of Durga Puja, so that they may meet their financial commitments and celebrate the festival with their families in a meaningful manner.”

JCPE further said that early payment “would provide considerable financial relief.”

The second demand concerns the PLB calculation.

Recently, the Staff Side of the National Council-JCM, through Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 27 August demanding that the bonus calculation ceiling be raised from ₹7,000 to ₹21,000.

The demand came on the back of gazette notification dated August 25, which said that where an employee's wage exceeds ₹7,000 a month, the bonus shall be calculated “as if his wage was seven thousand rupees per mensum or the minimum wage fixed by the Central Government, whichever is higher.”

With the central minimum wage now at ₹21,000, the Staff Side argued the effective ceiling should move up threefold.

The issue was first raised in the 49th National Council (JCM) meeting on May 11, where the Official Side said it could be considered only after the ceiling was revised under the Code on Wages 2019. While NCJCM Staff Side wants this change this, several employees' bodies have proposed more radical changes be done under the 8th CPC.

What employees want from the 8th CPC?

Several employees' bodies have so far submitted memorandums to the 8th CPC seeking PLB revision along with other demands. For instance, the Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) said in its memorandum that the “the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 established the principle that bonus is a deferred wage, with a statutory minimum of 8.33% of wages,” and that “both PLB and Adhoc Bonus are currently calculated on monthly emoluments capped at ₹7,000 for 30 days, which is an irrational and outdated restriction.”

The FNPO further said that the ₹7,000 cap “is entirely detached from the actual salary structure and cost of living,” so that “the bonus has ceased to function as a productivity incentive and has become an administrative formality.”

The Ministerial Staff Association, Survey of India, said the ceiling has hollowed the benefit out. As minimum wage and pay scales have risen, “this ceiling has rendered the bonus amount symbolic rather than a true performance-linked reward.”

“The calculation of Bonus (PLB or Ad-hoc) should be based on the actual Basic Pay + Dearness Allowance of the employee. Removing the artificial ceiling will ensure the bonus serves its true purpose as a productivity-linked incentive,” the MSA proposed in its memorandum.

The Railway Senior Citizens' Welfare Society (RSCWS) said “the existing system of bonus should continue with suitable revision from time to time so that it remains meaningful in the context of rising costs of living.”