Statement by All India Loco Running Staff association (AILRSA)
It has now been one year since the historic June agitation, called by the AILRSA South Zone Committee, demanding that Loco Running Staff of Indian Railways be granted a weekly rest like all other employees and workers, along with 30 hours of Periodical Rest (PR) in addition to the 16-hour Headquarters (HQ) rest; that continuous night duties be limited to two; that duty hours be fixed at 8 hours for goods trains and 6 hours for passenger-carrying trains; and that crew be mandatorily returned to headquarters within 36 hours.
This movement not only brought to the table the long-ignored basic demands of Loco Running Staff for discussion by the Railway Administration, political leadership, Parliament, the general public, and the media—but also led to an acknowledgment that these demands are legitimate. Furthermore, the Railway Administration was compelled to admit that there are over 30,000 vacancies solely in the Loco Running category, which is regarded as the backbone of the railways, and to initiate steps to fill them.
Additionally, this struggle served as a catalyst for many positive developments over the past year—such as strict monitoring to ensure duty hours do not exceed 10 hours, a decision to provide weekly PR without fail to goods crews, plans to modernize and maintain Running Rooms across the country, decisions to install and monitor functioning air-conditioning in locomotives, and even the acknowledgment that toilets, though limited, are a necessary facility in locos.
It can undoubtedly be said that this agitation served as an inspiration for these positive changes.
A thousand salutations to the brave comrades of this historic struggle—etched in golden letters in the history of AILRSA’s movements.