Railway meting out injustice to managers in terms of pay: Employees' union

The Railway Board is treating train drivers and managers in the "most inhuman manner" and meting out injustice to them in terms of their pay and duty hours, its largest employees' union alleged as it staged protests across the country on Monday.

All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) general secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra demanded that the authorities address the long-pending demands and grievances of the "running staff" without any further delay as there is a serious sense of disappointment and resentment brewing among them.

According to the AIRF, all loco pilots -- shunting, goods trains, passenger trains, and express/mail -- are placed in a common pay-level under the seventh Central Pay Commission. The shunting loco pilot pilots a loco from platform to shed and back.

"Similarly, traffic running staff, or trains managers, are also allotted same pay scale from Trains Manager (Passenger) to Trains Managers (Mail/Express). The pay scales of the loco and traffic running staff have not been improved despite persistent demand for the past several years," Mishra said.

"They are even being denied financial upgradation under Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS) on the plea that they are enjoying three or more promotions during their service career, which attributes further gross injustice with them," he claimed.

Mishra further said that their duty hours are not being restricted to eight hours despite persistent demand from the federation.

The Railway Board, on the demand of AIRF, had earlier issued instructions in regard to their return to their headquarters within 36 hours, but the orders were subsequently withdrawn.

"This has resulted in long working hours as well as their unrestricted out-of-station duties. Running duty on passengers trains are even coming to more than eight hours which will have an adverse effect on train safety. On some of the loco/traffic staff lobbies, duty rosters are such that the staff end up working continuous night duties for more than a week, resulting in several ailments," Mishra said.

He alleged that these staff are being treated in the "most inhuman manner" by the Railway Board by issuing various "retrograde instructions".

"In case of negligible SPAD (train passing signal at danger) cases they are subjected to extremely harsh punishment of removal from service, although such cases of SPAD may be attributable to various other factors.

"It may be noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic more than 3,000 railwaymen sacrificed their lives while performing their duties, majority of whom belonged to running staff categories who did not bother for their lives in operating freight as well passenger trains.... However, they were not treated as 'frontline staff' for the purpose of grant of ex-gratia," Mishra said.