CHENNAI: Boosting the morale of nearly 300 workers of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), an ex gratia of Rs 15,000 has been sanctioned on Monday for the occasion of Deepavali festival.

Requesting a bonus to the permanent staff, DT Next on October 25 carried a report on ‘Close to 300 permanent workers of CMRL demand Deepavali bonus’.

The circular from the CMRL on Monday stated that the establishment has sanctioned Rs 15,000 as ex gratia to all non-executive employees for the financial year 2023-24. However, permanent staff have not received any amount since inception of CMRL in 2015. This is the first time such an announcement has been made.

A member of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said, “It’s a welcome move that CMRL has followed the government’s order to provide the ex gratia amount to all employees in State-run PSUs.”

As an eligibility for ex gratia, employees who have rendered a full year service from August 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024 shall be entitled for the full amount of Rs 15,000. Those who have worked there for six months and above during 2023-24 shall be eligible for a particular amount of ex gratia, the notification read.

Meanwhile, the ex gratia has been sanctioned only for non-executive employees. There is no mention of it for nearly 200 permanent executive employees of CMRL.