Train drivers to hold protest on 16 March for reduction of working hours
Their demands include reduction of working regimen to 8 hours abd increasing weekly rest duration to 40 hours
New Delhi: Train drivers will stage protests across the country on 16 March to press for their demands for reduction of working hours and improvement in working condition.
All-India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) will organise demonstrations in front of offices of all Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) on Wednesday to demand reduction of working regimen to 8 hours. Their other demands include increasing the weekly rest duration to 40 hours, besides raising other issues.
Besides, loco pilots are also demanding that the frequency of the night shift should not exceed more than three times a week.
Currently, loco pilots work for about 11 to 12 hours a day and get 22-30 hours of weekly rest while their night shifts invariably stretch to four to five days a week, according to AILRSA.
Parliamentary standing committee on railways in the 14th Lok Shabha in its fifth report on safety and security had said working hours of Loco Running Staff at a stretch should not exceed 8 hours.
“Railways had constituted a High Power Committee (HPC) in 2013 to look into loco pilots’ demands and the committee recommended a 40-hour rest in a week at least. Therefore, a weekly rest of only 22-30 hours to the running staff is not only inadequate but also highly discriminatory," an AILRSA official said.
AILRSA had organised a 36-hour hunger strike in front of the Railway Board on 14 and 15 December in 2015 demanding implementation of HPC recommendations, which have not been accepted by the railways.
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