Short summary: The National Council (Staff Side), JCM has written to the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India on the long-pending demand to raise the bonus payable ceiling for Central Government employees from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 21,000. The letter, No. NC-JCM-2026/CS/Bonus dated August 2026, is signed by Shri Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (Staff Side) and refers to the Ministry of Labour & Employment Gazette Notification No. S.O.4710(E) dated 25th August 2026.
This matters directly to every India Post employee — GDS, MTS, Postman, Mail Guard, Postal Assistant, Sorting Assistant, LSG and HSG officials — because the Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) is calculated on this very ceiling.
There is an important detail in this letter that is being widely misreported. Read the section below carefully before you celebrate.
Quick Snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Letter No. | NC-JCM-2026/CS/Bonus |
| Letter Date | August 2026 |
| From | Secretary, National Council (Staff Side), JCM |
| Address | 13-C, Ferozshah Road, New Delhi – 110001 |
| To | Cabinet Secretary, Govt. of India & Chairman, National Council – JCM |
| Subject | Revision of Bonus Payable Ceiling from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 21,000 |
| Reference | Ministry of Labour & Employment Gazette Notification S.O.4710(E) dated 25.08.2026 |
| Governing Law | Code on Wages 2019 (29 of 2019), Section 26 |
| Earlier Law | Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 |
| Notification effective from | 21st November 2025 (retrospective) |
| Raised in | 49th Meeting of National Council (JCM), held 11th May 2026 |
The Background – How This Demand Reached Here
The sequence, in plain order:
- The demand to enhance the bonus payable ceiling beyond Rs. 7,000 was raised by the Staff Side in the 49th Meeting of the National Council (JCM) held on 11th May 2026.
- That meeting was chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
- During the discussion, the Official Side told the Staff Side that the demand could be considered only after the Central Government revised the payment ceiling limit in the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 — now subsumed into the Code on Wages, 2019.
- The Ministry of Labour & Employment has now issued notification S.O.4710(E) dated 25th August 2026 under sub-section (2) of Section 26 of the Code on Wages, 2019.
- The Staff Side has accordingly written to the Cabinet Secretary referring to this notification.
In short: the Official Side set a precondition, and the Staff Side is now pointing out that the precondition event has occurred.
Important: What the Notification Actually Says
This is where most social media posts are getting it wrong, so read this slowly.
The subject line of the letter says “Revision of Bonus Payable Ceiling to Central Government Employees from Rs. 7,000/- to Rs. 21,000/-“. That is the demand being pursued.
But the text of notification S.O.4710(E) quoted inside the letter says something narrower. Paraphrased in plain language, it provides that:
- For calculating bonus payable under sub-sections (1) and (3) of Section 26 of the Code on Wages, 2019,
- where an eligible employee’s wage exceeds Rs. 7,000 per month,
- the bonus is to be calculated as if the wage were Rs. 7,000 per month, or the minimum wage fixed by the Central Government, whichever is higher.
So the calculation ceiling in the notification remains Rs. 7,000 or the notified minimum wage, whichever is higher — not a flat Rs. 21,000.
Understanding the two different ceilings
Bonus law has always had two separate ceilings, and confusing them is the root of the misinformation:
- Eligibility ceiling — the wage limit up to which an employee is entitled to bonus at all. This is the Rs. 21,000 figure people usually quote.
- Calculation ceiling — the notional wage on which the bonus amount is worked out. This is the Rs. 7,000 (or minimum wage, whichever higher) figure.
An employee can be eligible under the first ceiling while their bonus is still computed on the second, much lower one. That gap is precisely what the Staff Side has been fighting to close.
Bottom line: treat this letter as the Staff Side pressing the demand forward, not as confirmation that your bonus has been raised to a Rs. 21,000 basis. Wait for a Department of Expenditure or Department of Posts order before assuming any change in your PLB amount.
The Retrospective Date – The Genuinely Big Point
Paragraph 2 of the notification states that it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 21st day of November 2025.
Why this matters:
- A retrospective effective date means the revised calculation applies to a period that has already passed.
- Where a revision results in a higher entitlement for that past period, the difference normally becomes payable as arrears.
- The Productivity Linked Bonus for Central Government employees, including Department of Posts staff, is usually announced around the Dussehra / Puja season. A November 2025 effective date therefore falls within a period for which bonus has already been disbursed or computed.
This retrospective date is the detail worth watching over the coming weeks.
Why This Matters Specifically to India Post Employees
Department of Posts is one of the largest bonus-paying establishments in the Central Government, and PLB reaches almost every category of staff:
- Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) — who receive bonus under a separate but linked calculation
- Multi Tasking Staff (MTS)
- Postman and Mail Guard
- Postal Assistants and Sorting Assistants (PA/SA)
- LSG, HSG-II and HSG-I officials
- Drivers, Stenographers and administrative staff
Any change in the calculation ceiling flows through to the PLB amount each of these categories receives. For staff at the lower end of the pay matrix, the difference between a Rs. 7,000 basis and a higher basis is not marginal — it is a meaningful sum.
What Employees Should Do Now
Practical steps, in priority order:
- Do not forward unverified figures. Messages claiming “bonus ceiling raised to Rs. 21,000, arrears confirmed” are running ahead of the actual notification text.
- Wait for the implementation order. A gazette notification under the Code on Wages is one step. The operative document for you will be an order from the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, followed by a Department of Posts circular applying it to postal staff.
- Keep your past bonus records. If arrears are eventually sanctioned from 21.11.2025, your earlier PLB payment details will be needed for the difference calculation.
- Follow your recognised service union or association. NC-JCM Staff Side and the postal federations will circulate the implementation order the moment it is issued.
- Check the official gazette yourself. S.O.4710(E) dated 25.08.2026 is a published notification and can be verified rather than taken on trust from a forwarded image.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Has the bonus ceiling actually been raised to Rs. 21,000? Not on the basis of this document. Rs. 21,000 is the demand pursued by the Staff Side. The notification text quoted in the letter retains a calculation basis of Rs. 7,000 or the Central Government minimum wage, whichever is higher.
Q. What is notification S.O.4710(E)? A Ministry of Labour & Employment gazette notification dated 25th August 2026, issued under sub-section (2) of Section 26 of the Code on Wages, 2019, dealing with the wage basis for calculating bonus.
Q. From when is the notification effective? It is deemed to have come into force from 21st November 2025, making it retrospective.
Q. Who signed this letter? Shri Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (Staff Side), JCM for Central Government Employees.
Q. Which law governs bonus now? The Code on Wages, 2019, which has subsumed the earlier Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
Q. When was the demand last discussed formally? In the 49th Meeting of the National Council (JCM) held on 11th May 2026, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
Q. Will arrears be paid? That depends on the implementation order. A retrospective date creates the possibility of arrears, but nothing is payable until the competent authority issues the order.