Representation to Mamata Banerjee
-DRAFT-
To
Miss. MAMATHA BANARJEE,
Hon’ble Minister for Railways,
Rail...
more...

Bhavan, New Delhi.
Respected Madam,
On behalf of the Loco Running staff of the Indian Railways, this Union submits this representation before your august office, seeking redressal of their grievances.
The Loco Running Staff of Indian Railways have to play a vital role in ensuring safety and punctuality in train services. Their nature of duty, responsibility the environment on which they work are distinct and different from other Railway workers.
The rules, regulations and instructions pertaining to them too are different. All other Railway workers have a scheduled work, a fixed daily duty hours and regular and constant periodical rest in a week. In the case of Loco Running staff there are no fixed schedule for their duty, which in nature unscheduled according to the timing of train, no fixed duty hours, it may vary and extended up to 16 or 20 hours as the circumstances warranted. Periodical rest in a week has been converted to 4 Periodical Rest of 30 hours or 5 periodical rest of 22 hours in month, thus they are deprived of periodical rest in every week as of others. Continuous night duty for 5 to 6 nights. These distinct and difference is peculiar to Loco running staff of Indian Railway none of the other Government employees in India have such a pathetic circumstances. They are mercilessly treated as machines and not as human beings. In the course they could not look after their family nor keep their health, as others enjoying in Government service.
Therefore a special care be taken in their case. Various Committees and Commissions recognized this position. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railway headed by Com. Basudev Acharya .M.P recommended to fix the duty at a stretch to 8 hours after taking into account various position prevails in Railways, the National and inter national norms on working hours, the recommendations of International Labour Organisation etc. The recommendations were placed before the Parliament during 2004.
Recently the Running Allowance Committee submitted its report on 25th November 2008 the Committee held as follows, “the Running staff are crucial and vital to the running of Railway and the fact that the Running staff productivity is critical to the Indian Railway, so it is necessary their motivation level is maintained at the highest level, and upon the implementation of the 6th CPC recommendation, Teachers, Nurses, Section Officers / Sr. Section Officers of Accounts have been placed in the pay band which over shoot conventional Group – C scales. Crucial category like Running staff have to be seen in relation to the difficulties, skill level and environment in which they work and Running staff are distinct from all other Group – C staff and their case has to be accordingly appreciated.”
It seems that the Railway Board too have fully appreciated these position. In the midst of various constraints innumerable instructions were issued to enhance the welfare of Loco Running staff, But to our dismay it never touch the core issue. Their pay packet are not commensurate to the responsibility attached to the post, the skill required to, the health that ask to stay fit to perform the assigned duty. That leads us to explain our grievances in Pay, Allowances and Duty hours.
DUTY HOURS OF RUNNING STAFF AND PERIODICAL REST:-
The two important grievances which we urge can be enumerated as follows –
(a) Limitation of the duty hours at a stretch to eight hours as against the existing practice of about 14 to 16 hours.
(b) Grant of one calendar day rest per week as against the existing practice of a periodic rest of 30 hours each 4 times a month or 22 hours each for 5 times a month
The brief details of the above two grievances are given hereunder for immediate reference:
Right from the pre-independence days, the Loco Pilots / Engine Drivers of the Indian Railways wee subjected to work at a stretch for a period exceeding 16 or 17 hours, without any limitation. This led to various agitations and strikes, particularly between 1968 and 1972 and, finally, during 1973 an agreement was reached between the Association and the Hon’ble Labour Minister to the effect that the duty hours at a stretch of the Loco running staff would be confined to only 10 hours. This agreement was announced in the floor of Parliament on 13.08.1973.
Based on this agreement, the Railway Board issued an Order bearing No. E (LL) 77 – HER / 29 dated 31.08.1978 limiting the working hours of the running staff at a stretch to 10 hours. These instructions were, however, diluted by another Order bearing no. No. EE (LL) 78 – HER / 29 dated 03.04.1981, with the result, the Loco Pilot / Engine Drivers were again forced to work for unlimited hours at stretch, some times even going beyond 20 hours. Unable to bear the strain of such long and inhuman hours of work, further agitations and litigations followed and finally in a batch of petitions filed before the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam Bench by a large number of Drivers, it was held that the working hours were inhuman and appropriate further directions were issued.
In purported compliance with the directions, the Railway Board also issued another Order bearing No. E/LL/91 HER I-II dated 03.04.1992. These instructions, very flexible in character, had again taken the workers back to the position as it existed prior to 1978 or it may even be said the pre-independence days with the result now almost every Loco Driver, mostly Goods Drives / Asst Loco Pilots are expected to work at a stretch for more than 14 to 16 hours. Again agitations followed, including in the nature of complaints before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, headed by Shri. Basudev Acharya, Hon’ble M.P made its recommendations that more than 8 hours duty at a stretch should not be extracted from the Loco running staff of Indian Railways and the said Report was placed before the Parliament during 2004.
It is also understood that the Hon’ble Minister of State for Railways Shri. Velu placed before the Parliament the action taken Report on various recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and in this report, it is understood, there is no reference to the limitation of the working hours of the running staff to 8 hours at a stretch. In other words, even in this twenty first century of human advancement, the Loco Pilots of Indian Railway toil for 14 to 16 hours at a stretch that is with uncertain working hours. Such working conditions have not only substantially affected the health of the Loco Pilots as recognized by the Railways themselves in the safety related voluntary retirement scheme, the same also affects the safety of the traveling public to a large extent. The members of the family of the Loco Pilots including children also suffer from deprivation and total disenhancement and disappointment.
In this circumstances we humbly pray that at least your good self be pleased to show some human sympathy upon ourselves and limit the working hours of Loco Pilots to 8 hours at a stretch and thus save us from further destruction and peril.
b) Grant of one calendar day rest per week as against the existing practice of a periodic rest of 30 hours each 4 times a month or 22 hours each for 5 times a month :-
Apart from the daily working hours the periodic / weekly rest / holidays of the Loco Pilots is also uncertain as at present. If a Loco Pilots breaks off at 10.00 am a day and joins back for duty at 04.00 pm next day then that is called as availing of a periodical rest and if such 30 hours of ‘Periodical Rest’ is given for 4 days per month, it is stated that the statutory requirement of granting a weekly rest is fulfilled. If such a gap instead of 30 hours is confined to 22 hours, between two spells of duty and if 5 such spells given in a month, then also it is suggested by the Railway Administration that the statutory requirement of Periodical Rest is fulfilled.
As a matter of fact, under statutory provisions, after every spell of duty (which presently run between 14 and 16 hours) a Loco Pilot is entitled to 16 hours rest. If the statutory requirement of 16 hours rest after a spell of duty is also added each Loco Pilot is legally entitled to avail minimum of 46 hours of weekly rest in place of a weekly holiday as in the case of other Office staff.
The absence of such weekly holiday/rest added with uncertain hours of work has virtually shattered the family conditions / health of a large section of Railway employees. A vast majority of them have been rendered medically unfit before the attainment of their age of superannuation and another large section of Loco Pilots voluntarily retired and leave the service unable to stand the inhuman working conditions.
ASST. LOCO PILOT and their Pay Packet:-
The recruitment cadre to Loco Running staff category is Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP). The recruitment qualification is matriculation with ITI, preferably Diploma in Engineering. After recruitment through Railway Recruitment Board, they have to undergo a thorough and stringent medical examination The medical standard of ‘Aye One’ be maintained through out the service as Running staff.
There after they must undergo a 9 months stringent initial training on induction as Assistant Loco Pilot in which they have to undergo training in safety related Rules, regulations and instructions Mechanism / Operations of various types of Locomotives in service including attend of trouble, safety equipments on them, relevant aspects of various coaches / wagons and problems on run, Fire fighting, Function of Shed / Crew lobby Control Office, familiar with the section of Rail track, location of innumerable signals, Boards, Station lay outs, up and down gradients etc. The responsibility to ensure safety of the Passenger which are same as stringent as of Airline Pilots.