Railway employees have sought higher pay scales, additional allowances and better promotional opportunities under the 8th Pay Commission. The All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) raised several demands during its interaction with the pay panel on October 30.
The federation presented its oral evidence before the 8th Central Pay Commission, highlighting the working conditions, technical responsibilities and occupational risks faced by different categories of railway employees, including loco pilots, train managers, track maintainers and technicians.
In a letter dated October 30, AIRF General Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra shared details of the interaction with the federation’s affiliated unions. The discussions covered general pay-related issues and the specific concerns of different categories of railway staff.
What has AIRF demanded from the 8th Pay Commission?
During the interaction, AIRF sought higher pay scales for railway employees, arguing that their responsibilities and working conditions are different from those of employees in other Union government departments.
The federation pointed out that Indian Railways operates round the clock throughout the year, across different geographical and climatic conditions. It also described the railways as the ‘Second Line of Defence’ after the Indian Army, highlighting the role played by railway employees during natural calamities, war-like situations and pandemics.
AIRF argued that rapid modernisation has increased the technical requirements of railway operations. Employees responsible for maintaining rolling stock, signalling systems and railway tracks require specialised skills and technical knowledge, which should be reflected in their pay scales.
The federation also raised general issues from its memorandum to the commission, including minimum wage and railway-specific allowances.
AIRF seeks risk and hardship allowances for railway employees
AIRF told the commission that railway employees should be considered for special allowances in view of the casualties and grievous injuries sustained during the course of their employment.
The federation sought the following allowances:
- Risk and Hardship Allowance
- Hazardous Duty Allowance
- Hill Allowance
- Dress Allowance
It demanded that these benefits be considered for every category of railway employees.
Track maintainers seek parity with railway technicians
The working conditions and pay-related concerns of track maintainers and allied categories of the Permanent Way (P. Way) department were also discussed during the meeting.
AIRF highlighted the hazardous nature of track maintenance work and said employees in these categories needed better technical knowledge and expertise because of improvements in track geometry and precision.
The federation argued that track maintainers should be treated at par with technicians belonging to other engineering disciplines of Indian Railways.
It also demanded specific allowances for track maintainers, patrolmen, keymen and gatemen working in the Civil Engineering Department.
Technicians seek higher pay scales, better promotion prospects
AIRF also raised the concerns of technicians across different engineering disciplines of Indian Railways.
The federation demanded better pay scales for technicians and proposed merging certain intermediate pay scales into one to facilitate improved promotional opportunities.
Highlighting the risks and hardships associated with their duties, AIRF also sought adequate Risk and Hardship Allowance and Dress Allowance for all railway technicians.
Female railway employees flag workplace challenges
Female representatives of AIRF, Ashima and Dolly Kumari (NRMU/NR), also highlighted the problems faced by women working as loco pilots, assistant loco pilots, train managers and track maintainers.
Their submissions focused on the challenges faced by women in operational and maintenance roles across these railway staff categories.
According to AIRF’s account, the federation observed that the Chairperson of the 8th Pay Commission, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, was fully convinced by their submissions.
Who attended the AIRF meeting with the 8th Pay Commission?
The interaction took place in the presence of 8th Pay Commission Chairperson Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, member Prof. Pulak Ghosh and Member-Secretary Pankaj Jain.
The commission allocated two hours, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, for the interaction. AIRF divided the time into four half-hour sessions covering:
- General issues, including minimum wage and railway-specific allowances.
- Loco and Traffic Running Staff.
- Track Maintainers and allied P. Way categories.
- Technicians across railway departments.
AIRF General Secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra, Working President J.R. Bhosale and other office-bearers and representatives participated in the meeting.
The federation said it was satisfied with the interaction and expressed hope that the commission would consider its submissions while deciding pay scales and other benefits for railway employees.