Report received from All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), Mumbai Division, Central Railway
On May 9th 2024, for seven hours from 1700 hours to 2400 hours the goods train movements were stopped at the busy Kalyan junction of the Mumbai Division of Central Railway. Nearly 50 Assistant Loco Pilots (ALP’s) reported sick leading to a massive pileup of goods trains.
They were protesting against the newly introduced practice of having only one ALP to man both front and back engines in a formation whereas as per the Rule every engine should have a Loco Pilot and Assistant Loco Pilot. For last six months AILRSA had been protesting this unsafe practice being imposed on them. However, the authorities did not listen.
When an ALP refused to do the same on May 9th, 2024, he was immediately suspended. This led to a mass protest by majority of his colleagues and they gathered in the Kalyan Lobby demanding his reinstatement and stopping of unsafe practices by the authorities. This led to a massive pileup of goods trains. ALPs had decided that if the Kalyan authorities did not listen to their demands, they would similarly close the Kurla and Panvel train movements also.
This united action by ALPs forced the authorities to remove the suspension order against the ALP and they also agreed to stop the unsafe practice of having only one ALP to man two engines.
The LPs and ALPs of the Mumbai Division had similarly protested in 2022, when the authorities issued a new Joint Procedure Order (JPO) which denied the LPs and ALPs sufficient rest. At that time the LPs and ALPs of Kalyan, Panvel and Lonavala had jointly organised a mass protest whereby train movement was completely disrupted for 36 hours. Faced with the massive united action by the LPs and ALPs of the Mumbai Division, the authorities had to quickly withdraw the JPO.
These actions by LPs and ALPs in 2022 and now in May 2024 show the strength of the united actions in being able to halt the anti-worker policies of the Railway authorities.