New Delhi: The loco pilots and their unions have launched a strong protest against the Railway Ministry’s recent decision to subsume 16 hours of daily rest within the 30 hours of weekly rest.
However, officials from the Railway Ministry said several facilities such as availability of ACs in the running rooms and train engines, constant monitoring of loco pilots’ working hours, vigorous recruitment drive to fulfil the vacant posts and several other measures have been taken in the interest of the running staff.
A committee, constituted by the Railway Ministry to deliberate on the implementation and compliance of the accepted recommendations of the High-Powered Committee (HPC 2013) on working hours and rest, recently recommended that “periodic weekly rest includes daily headquarters rest” among other things.
Various unions of running staff such as loco pilots alleged that the recommendation has invalidated the HPC’s 2013 recommendation of a 40-hour minimum weekly rest and contradicted a judgment by the Karnataka High Court as well as directions from the regional labour commissioner.
They said weekly rest is mandatory in all labour laws, including in Railway Servant (Hours of Work and Period of Rest) Rules 2005.
“All employees, whether they are employed in private or government establishments, avail a minimum of 24 hours rest as Weekly rest. This 24 hours of rest is followed by the daily rest,” K C James, secretary general, All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), said.
“When employees break off duty, say, at 5 PM on Saturday, they need to resume duty at 9 AM on Monday. Thus, they get at least 40 hours rest in a week, 16 hours as daily rest followed by 24 hours as weekly rest,” he added.
James stated that in administrative offices in government establishments, workers break off their duty at 5 pm on Friday and resume back to duty at 9 am on Monday, enjoying a 64-hour weekly rest, including the daily rest of 16 hours, and the same is followed in the Railways too.
“According to the present rules, governing the hours of work and period of rest as embodied in Railway Servants (Hours of Work and Period of Rest) Rules, 2005, a 16-hour daily rest and a 30-hour periodical rest has been prescribed,” R Kumaresan, president, Southern Railway, AILRSA, said.
He added, “When all other railway employees are allowed weekly rest hours followed by daily rest, why in the case of the running staff, while allowing weekly rest of 30 hours, the daily rest period is swallowed, stating that the 16 hours’ daily rest is subsumed in weekly rest of 30 hours?”
Thus, the running staff of the Indian Railways only get 30 hours of rest instead of 46 hours, 16 hours of daily rest plus 30 hours of weekly rest, Kumaresan argued.
The union members said the International Labour Organisation convention stipulates that weekly rest and daily rest are separate provisions.
“The Regional Labour Commissioner, the authorised/Competent authority to interpret the Rules on duty hours held that the daily rest and weekly rest are two provisions and both should not run concurrently. This decision was upheld by the Central Administrative Tribunal and High Court,” James said.
He added, “But the Railway management still did not honour these verdicts and has deprived the daily rest of 16 hours when weekly rest of 30 hours is being given to running staff. Why is this discrimination with only for running staff?”
Post the recommendations of the committee, the Railway Board declared that the 16 hours of headquarters rest is subsumed into 30 hours of weekly/periodical rest in the case of running staff and directed them to resume duty on the completion of 30 hours of weekly/periodical rest.
“Does the Railway Board apply this principle to all Railway workers and ask the workers who break off duty at 17.00 hours on Saturday to resume duty at 23.00 hours on Sunday on completion of 30 hours after they availed their weekly rest? Let the Railway Ministry answer this query,” said James.
