Railway union seeks end to contract staff in safety-critical posts

The South Central Railway Employees’ Sangh (SCRES) has strongly opposed the Railways Ministry’s “growing reliance on outsourcing in safety-critical operations” and demanded time-bound filling of vacancies in sanctioned posts.

SCRES general secretary M. Raghaviah said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had also recommended that contract workers engaged in safety-related duties be reduced to a minimum in the short term and eliminated in the long term. The recommendation followed the collision involving the Mysuru-Darbhanga Bagmati Express at Kavarapettai station on October 11, 2024.

The union leader alleged that contract personnel continue to be deployed to compensate for shortages of regular employees, including in safety-sensitive operations, despite official claims to the contrary. He said there are about 1.5 lakh vacancies in safety categories across Indian Railways. In the South Central Railway (SCR) and South Coast Railway (SCoR) zones alone, there are around 1,300 vacant Station Master posts, nearly 1,000 Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) vacancies and about 3,000 apprentice-related vacancies, he claimed.

The union also reiterated its demands before the Eighth Central Pay Commission (CPC) for a minimum monthly salary of ₹69,000, based on a fitment factor of 3.833, citing the demanding nature of railway jobs, including round-the-clock duties, night shifts, high stress levels and limited family time.

The other demands of SCRES are - 100% merger of Dearness Allowance (DA) with basic pay once DA reaches 25%, an increase in the annual increment rate from 3% to 6% and the introduction of open-ended pay scales without arbitrary ceilings.

The union further demanded a minimum financial gain of ₹10,000 on promotion through at least two additional increments and urged the CPC to address disparities between existing and future pensioners and drew parallels with the One Rank One Pension (OROP) model for the armed forces. It also reiterated its demand for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for railway employees, according to a press release issued by media coordinator V. Sripati Sarma.