Press Statement by L Mony

PRESS RELEASE

TRAIN DRIVERS OBSERVE FAST ON 3RD AND 4TH MAY 2010, NATION WIDE:-

Urging to full- fill the assurances given to Loco Running Staff at various stage of agitation, the entire Loco Running Staff of Indian Railway observe Fast for two days on 3rd and 4th of May 2010. Its entire central committee members sit in Fast in front of parliament on 3rd and 4th may 2010, simultaneously along with 58,000 Loco Running Staff nationwide.

After the recommendation of VI CPC, the Loco Running staff demanded to raise the Grade Pay of Assistant Loco Pilots from Rs 1900 to Rs 2800, and rectify certain anomalies in allowing Grade Pay and Running Allowances to various grades of Drivers. At the peak of the agitation, when the suburban service at Bombay is getting paralyzed, then Union Minister for Railways Sri Lalu Prasad Yadav directed the Railway Board to settle the grievances amicably. The representative of Loco Running Staff met the Chairman, Railway Board, on the issue, in turn the Chairman conceded the demand and assured to redress the grievances.

It is our experience that the assurance given by Government in Parliament was not heeded by the Railway Board. On 13th August 1973, the Government gave assurance in Parliament that “Loco Running Staff need not work continuously more than10 hours”, though national and international norms on duty hours stands at 8 hours. Even after a lapse of 37 long years the Loco Running Staff are subjected to work continuously for more than 14 hours and extends up to 20 hours at a stretch, paving way for serious accidents that took many lives of innocent publics. Alas, still the babus of Railway bureaucrats never moved.

Taking stock of the resentment among Loco Running Staff, and the ongoing agitation at various part of the country, which paralysed the train services, the Railway Board though belated constituted a committee known as FAST TRACK COMMITTEE, to look into the grievances of Loco Running Staff on 15th February 2010 with a time frame of 2 months to give its recommendations.

Hoping a redressal of their grievances the Loco Running Staff kept under abeyance their agitation still 15th April 2010. But to our dismay the said Fast Track Committee did not submit its recommendation within the time frame, nor it held any discussion with the staff side that shows adamancy of Railway Board.

Loco Running Staff have serious exemption, the way the Railway Board deal with staff grievances. It is universally accepted principal that a dispute between the employer and employee usurped the dispute be invariably referred to an independent body or authority. But Railway Board preferred the dispute to an in house committee with its own subordinates as its members. The confidence of staff shattered, and resentment brewed to the extant that the train service may
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Come to a stop during the period of FAST on 3rd 4th May 2010. This Union request the media, Parliamentarians, Trade Unions and general public to persuade the Railway Ministry to settle the grievances of Loco Running Staff amicably to avoid serious inconvenience to travelling public.

With thanks

NEW DELHI, L . MONY
28-04-2010. Central President, AILRSA