New Delhi: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to a new Productivity-Linked Reward (PLR) scheme for all major port trusts and Dock Labour Board employees/workers for the years 2015-16 through 2017-18.
The new PLR scheme will benefit about 37,870 port and dock workers and employees in all the major port trusts. The yearly outgo owing to this incentive will be Rs 49.58 crore.
The Ministry of Shipping will calculate the PLR and arrears on the enhanced wage ceiling for calculation of bonus at Rs 7,000 per month instead of Rs 3,500 per month on the existing methodology of the combined countrywide port performance. The PLR shall be paid annually on the basis of 50% weighting given to all-India performance and 50% weighting given to the individual port’s performance.
For the year 2014-15, an amount of Rs 25.93 crore has already been paid to about 41,492 port and dock workers as per the wage ceiling of Rs 3,500. The total additional outgo will now be about Rs 25.93 crore.
There is an existing scheme of PLR for the said sector, wherein it was granted on a yearly basis based on the settlement arrived at between the management and the labour federations of the big port trusts.
The government believes that the new PLR scheme will foster better industrial relationship and congenial work atmosphere in the port sector besides stimulating better productivity whereas the dockers had protested such a move nationwide last year.
