Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent’s report
On April 12, 2024, Assistant (S&T) M Narasimha was killed by a train while attending to the point failure at Rechni Road station of Secunderabad Division of South Central Railway (SCR). Signal and Telecom (S&T) employees have blamed safety lapses in the Railways’ system for the death of another employee during work.
The death of another S&T employee has once again raised many questions. After all, why is a S&T employee being sent alone on the running line again and again? Can S&T workers not be briefed by the on-duty Station Master about the movement of trains before/during duty? Were they equipped with safety equipment? Were safety protocols being followed at the workplace?
Indian Railway Signal and Telecommunication Maintainers Union (IRSTMU) has appealed to the railway administration and the government to jointly find a solution to this problem so that such incidents do not happen again in future. IRSTMU has expressed deep condolences to the family of the employee killed in the accident.
The union says that the employees of the S&T Department are facing continuous duty, not getting enough rest, the roster is not being followed properly, and in case of failure at any time despite completing their duty, they are called again and the failure is rectified as soon as possible. They are always under pressure due to excessive pressure to perform. IRSTMU has repeatedly put forth its demands before the Railway Administration but they have not been resolved yet.
Demands of IRSTMU:
- Failure gang for the night should be formed in every SSE unit as soon as possible.
- Correct roster duties should be followed.
- Violation of HOER should be stopped.
- Risk and Hardship Allowance should be given to all S&T personnel working on line with immediate effect.