BackDearness Allowance: MSRTC announces DA hike, Diwali bonus for employees
MSRTC announces DA hike: This will benefit around 95,000 employees
PremiumAhead of Diwali, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has hiked the dearness allowance (DA) of its employees to 17 per cent from the existing 12 per cent. This will benefit around 95,000 employees.
It also said the October salary of employees will be paid before the Diwali festival on November 1 instead of the scheduled 7th day of each month.
The cash-strapped corporation also announced "Diwali Bhet" (bonus) of ₹2,500 and ₹5,000 to its employees and officers, respectively.
Last week, the Union Cabinet had approved an increase of 3 percentage points on DA and Dearness Relief (DR) for central government employees and pensioners from 28%. After this hike, the DA will increase to 31%. The hike comes into effect from 1 July 2021, announced union minister Anurag Thakur in a press briefing in New Delhi. The new hike comes just days ahead of Diwali and is aimed to benefit over 47 lakh employees and 68.62 lakh pensioners.
Reeling under losses and rising diesel prices, MSRTC has also hiked fares across all its services, except night express buses, with ticket prices going up by a minimum of ₹5. The MSRTC, which has been severely hit due to curtailed operations amid the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, is expected to earn an additional ₹50 crore from this move, Shekhar Channe, vice-chairman and managing director of the state-run transport undertaking told PTI.
The MSRTC has a fleet of 16,000 buses.
In order to reduce the burden on MSRTC coffers due to a sharp rise in fuel prices and an increase in rates of tyres and spare parts of vehicles, the state-owned corporation has decided to hike fares.
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