Good News! Bonus act to be amended; know how this will benefit ‘working class’
There is good news in the offing for the labour class especially factory workers. After announcing One Rank One Pension and Seventh Pay Commission, Modi Government is now contemplating to make changes in existing Bonus Act to benefit working class.
On Friday, Prime minister Narendra Modi himself announced that his Government will soon bring a Bill regarding the same in the Parliament.
The Cabinet already has decided to double the wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs 7,000 per month for factory workers and establishments with 20 or more workers.
“We are going to bring an important bill in this house to amend Bonus Act… The Cabinet has already approved it. This is a very important bill for our workers. We are taking decisions and working for welfare of the labour class”, Modi said.
He was replying to a two-day long debate in the Lok Sabha to commemorate the Constitution Day and the 125th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.
What is the plan?
The bill seeks to enhance the eligibility limit for payment of bonus from the salary or wage of an employee from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 21,000.
Prime Minister also said that the government has fixed the minimum pension under the EPF scheme at Rs 1,000 per month.
He said earlier people were getting pensions as low as Rs 7 and Rs 20 per month which was even insufficient to cover the transport cost.
The Payment of Bonus Act 1965 is applicable to every factory and other establishments in which 20 or more persons are employed on any day during an accounting year, he said.
As per the Cabinet decision, the new norms would come into force from April 1, 2015. The bill also provides for a new proviso in Section 12 which empowers the central government to vary the basis of computing bonus.
At present, under Section 12, where the salary or wage of an employee exceeds Rs 3,500 per month, the minimum or maximum bonus payable to employees are calculated as if his salary or wage were Rs 3,500 per month.