Call of All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA)
Comrades,
We are currently going through a work environment where the number of people committing suicide and those suffering from mental distress due to increasing workplace pressure is rising day by day.
When work meant for two people is forced upon one, the excessive workload not only weakens the worker but also makes it difficult for them to complete their tasks efficiently. This additional burden significantly affects the worker’s mental and family health. Despite this common-sense understanding, jobs are being cut under the guise of profitability calculations, with orders being issued from faraway offices by people who have no real understanding of the actual work situation.
If a government implements such measures, it directly impacts youth employment and severely affects the country’s economy. This is precisely what is happening in Indian Railways today. Based on the recommendations of the Vivek Debroy Committee, an order was issued under the 2019 100-Day Action Plan to cut around ten thousand locomotive pilot positions in Indian Railways, which is the backbone of freight and passenger transport in the country. Over the years, these positions have been continuously reduced, and by 2024, the situation has reached a point where trains are left stranded due to a lack of drivers.
Railway authorities are trying to cover up their mismanagement by spreading the false narrative that freight transport disruptions, which are severely impacting the nation’s economy, are caused by mega blocks on the tracks.
A job for one person uplifts their family, which in turn strengthens society and ultimately contributes to the progress of the nation. But those who advocate for workforce reductions ignore this reality. At the same time, the proposal to rehire retired military personnel and railway employees on a contract basis is like mocking those waiting for jobs outside the railway system.
Instead of improving profitability by reducing workforce numbers over five years, Indian Railways is now facing a severe shortage of workers, resulting in freight trains running late or being abandoned altogether. As a result, customers have already shifted to road transport.
According to the Railway Board’s own estimates, 30% of locomotive pilot positions should be reserved for leave purposes. Furthermore, as a result of continuous protests by AILRSA, a 10% training reserve was mandated in 2018 for workforce calculations. However, today, even with less than 5% of positions reserved for leave, trains are being operated under extreme staff shortages.
This high-pressure work environment and the resulting mental distress could compromise railway safety.
In the Palakkad division, at the Mangaluru depot, workers are being denied leave even for urgent family matters. A worker was forced to care for his father undergoing cancer treatment without pay because leave was refused. Similarly, a female employee who attended her father’s funeral was marked as absent, and her salary was cut.
For years, workers from North India have been requesting IRT (Inter-Railway Transfers) and IDT (Inter-Divisional Transfers) to TVC division, but their applications remain stuck on paper. Even after six months, these workers cannot visit their aging parents or families, as authorities have been systematically denying leave for the past three years.
Workers from North India, who need six days just for travel, are being denied leave and subjected to cruel treatment, which some officials seem to take pleasure in.
Adding insult to injury, the Mangaluru depot has a CCRC that only exists to mark workers as absent. Instead of acting as a mediator between workers and administration, the CCRC has sadly been reduced to a mere ‘radio’ that relays orders.
The loco running staff at Mangaluru are enduring hardships beyond what an ordinary person can bear.
In response to this situation, the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) Mangaluru Branch has decided to launch a signature campaign and a family protest against the ongoing anti-worker policies.
We humbly request all workers to participate in the family protest on February 8, 2025, to express our strong opposition.
Our demands:
Authorities must stop denying leave and imposing “absent” status, which is pushing workers into financial distress.
The Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) must directly intervene in this matter.
AILRSA calls on all workers to continue this protest until the DRM takes action.
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EVENING FAMILY PROTEST
February 8, 2025
From 15:00 HRS (3:00 PM)
Mangaluru Junction Station Premises
Inauguration: Com. PK Ashokan
Keynote Address: KK Kesavan
Other railway trade union leaders will also participate.
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WORKING CLASS ZINDABAD!
WORKERS’ UNITY ZINDABAD!
Participate & Make It a Success!