Hyderabad, Oct 30 — The government of Telangana on Friday announced that a Diwali bonus of Rs 419 crore will be paid to employees of state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) on November 5.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Energy, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, made the announcement while extending advance Diwali greetings to the employees of the coal company.
He directed the company’s management to disburse the Performance-Linked Reward Bonus (Diwali bonus).
The decision is expected to benefit about 38,000 employees. Every employee will get Rs 1,10,250 as a Diwali Bonus. The company will spend a total of Rs 419 crore on the bonus.
This is the second bonus to be received by Singareni employees within a month. On October 13, the state government had Rs 596 crore as a bonus for Dasara.
Following directives from the Deputy CM, SCCL management has initiated Diwali bonus disbursement.
Singareni CMD Buddha Prakash Jyoti consulted with the personnel and finance officials concerned and instructed them to make the necessary arrangements to credit the Diwali bonus into the workers' bank accounts by November 5.
The company stated that the Diwali bonus applies exclusively to employees covered under the National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA) and does not extend to executive/officer-level staff. Workers who completed 190 working days in underground mines, or 240 working days in open-cast and surface operations during the previous financial year, will be eligible for the full bonus.
For those with fewer working days, the bonus will be calculated and paid on a pro-rata basis, proportional to the number of days worked. However, a minimum attendance of 30 days during the previous financial year has been set as the eligibility threshold to qualify for this bonus.
On October 13, the state government had declared a 34% profit share for permanent employees as a Dasara gift.
Permanent employees of the company were paid an average profit share of Rs 1,53,912 each, while contract employees were given Rs 5,500 each.
The Singareni management has disbursed a total of approximately Rs 1,020 crore to the workforce across these two bonuses.
Within the span of a single month, employees are set to receive an average of nearly Rs 2,65,000 through Dussehra and Diwali bonuses.
Extending Diwali greetings to employees, Singareni CMD Buddhaprakash Jyoti advised them to utilise the bonus funds for their family’s needs and, if possible, to save a portion of it. He further urged everyone to work with enthusiasm, in the true spirit of the festive season, and to strive toward achieving the targets set for each mine and department.