Comment about Indian Express news on 18.11.15

All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) is a fighting organization representing the Assistant Loco Pilot, Shunting Loco Pilot, Loco Pilot Goods, Loco Pilot Passenger, and Loco Pilot Mail of Indian Railways.

The New Indian Express has published a report from New Delhi on 18.11.2015

“Railways wants to analyse call records, loco pilots warn of strike”.

In that report it is given that” The Ministry of Railways wants to analyse call records of its engine drivers and their assistants across India to see if they used mobile phones while driving trains — a decision that has prompted around 70,000 train drivers to call for a two-day hunger strike in December to protest against what they call invasion of privacy.”

This is far beyond fact. AILRSA is against usage of MOBILE phones during driving. We also educate our cadre not to use phones while on foot plate.

But our Hunger Fast is not on this issue.

AILRSA declared 36 hrs Fast In front of Rail Bhavan New Delhi on 14 & 15 Dec 2015 demanding to Implement High Power Committee recommendation.

HIGH POWER COMMITTEE:

Ministry of Railways(Railway Board) have decided to constitute a High power Committee( No:ERB-1/2011/18 New Delhi dated 25.05.2011) to review the duty hours of running and other safety categories of staff on Railways under the chairmanship of Sri DP Tripathi, Ex Secretary, Ministry of Food processing Industries. The other members of the committee will be as under.

i) Sri VK Manglik, Ex GM, West Central Railway - Member.

ii) Sri. MS Khan, Ex.AM/Finance/Railway Board -Member

iii) Sri DS Baveja,Ex CEE, Western Railway ( Since he does not join, Sri. Amarnath Former GM/CLW posted)- – Member

Sri Anil Kumar Gulati, Chairman, HRRC, Railway Board will be Secretary to the Committee.

BRIEF FACTS:

This association represents the Loco running staff of Indian Railways. The service condition, that of their duty hours, daily/Trip rest period, weekly rest, consecutive night duty are governed by the Hours of Employment Regulations (HOER). The said rules were originally enacted in the year 1938, during British Raj. Though some modifications here and there were effected and now the said Rule is called Railway Servants Hours of Work and Periods of Rest rule 2005, the basic structure remain as of the rule 1938.

The duty hours at a stretch is 13 hours, in spite of the fact that 8 hours duty is National and International norm. Daily rest nationally and internationally stands at 16 hours, where as the 2005 rules of Railway prescribe 12 hours and 8 hours. The consecutive night duty as per 2005 rule is 6 nights, but ILO convention, National and International norms stand at 2.

The staff has staged many an agitations in this regard. In the year 1973 the labor minister announced in the Parliament that the Loco Running staff need not work for more than 10 Hours from sign on to sign off, being an agreement arrived at with the striking Loco Running Staff. But even after a lapse of 42 years the agreement to restrict the duty hours to 10 Hours not being implemented by The Ministry of Railways.

Parliamentary standing committee on Railways(2004), headed by Shri. Basudeb Acharia, recommended to limit the duty hours to 8 hours, that also not been considered yet. The Ministry of Labour declared in 2013 that the duty hours of loco Running Staff should be 6 Hours duly classifying the Loco Running staff category as intensive category under hours of work and periods of rest rules 2005. That also not been implemented.

In the mean time the ministry of railway agreed to appoint a judicial committee to review the working hrs of Loco Running and other staff in 2006. After along 5 years a High power committee to review hours of work and rest of Running staff and other safety related categories was appointed in the year 2011.

Any how the said committee submitted its recommendations in the year 2013. Those recommendations are not in line with the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee 2004 to restrict the duty hours to 8 hrs, the announcement of Labour Minister in the parliament in 1973 that duty hrs is will be limited to 10hrs nor in line with the decision of ministry of labour that duty hrs should be 6hrs in 2013. The said recommendations of HPC are awaiting acceptance and implementation by the Ministry of Railways for the past 2 years.


The apathy shown by The Ministry of Railways made the workers disillusioned and agitated. This association constantly made appeals before The Ministry of Railways to accept and implement the recommendations, by duly modifying it by including the suggestions submitted by AILRSA, but all efforts became futile.

Under this circumstance we decided to stage a 36hrs fast commencing from 14th December 2015 in front of Ministry of Railways, New Delhi.

We request your help to high light our genuine demands in your media.

C. Sunish.

Assistant Secretary General

AILRSA