Loco pilots of various Divisions of Southern Railway, under the banner of the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), organized demonstrations in front of all Divisional Offices of Southern Railway on 5th April 2024. Earlier, on 4th April, a letter was handed over on behalf of Shri K S Sreeju, Secretary, AILRSA Palakkad Division to the General Manager, Southern Railway, in which they brought out the injustice they have been facing and also outlined their future course of action.
They notified the Railways that a Zonal level demonstration in front of the General Manager Office, Chennai will be held on 15th May 2024 and representations to the General Manager Southern Railway would be submitted through the respective Divisional Railway Managers. If the four demands (explained further on) were not met, the loco pilots would carry on a work to rule agitation.
The loco running staff (commonly known as engine drivers) includes Loco Pilots (LPs) and Assistant Loco pilots (ALPs). These are the people who drive the super fast, express, mail, passenger, suburban, and shunting and goods trains.
The Indian Railways is known as the lifeline of the country and all its workers play a vital part in the lives of most people, directly and indirectly. The Indian Railways carries nearly 3 crore people daily, which is more than the population of countries like Australia! It is obvious that the well-being of its workers is important to all the passengers. However, the fact is that the working conditions of even those who directly affect passenger safety like the LPs and ALPs are extremely oppressive.
The decades-long demands:
- Limit duty hours to 10 hours from sign on to sign off
It is evident that the nature of an engine driver’s job is such that it demands very high levels of concentration. Within the locomotive cab the driver has to face many adverse conditions like heavy noise, vibrations and extreme heat, as high as 60 degree Centigrade in summers and as low as 4-5 degrees Centigrade in winter. He has to heed the obstacles on the track, the condition/continuity of Over Head Equipment (OHE), anything approaching from sides of the track, the loco controls, Vigilance Control Device (VCD), Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), the trailing load and he has to remain prepared to stop at the earliest in an emergency.
Over 50 years ago, in 1973, the Ministry of Railways announced and gave assurance in the Parliament that the duty hours would be reduced to 10 hours from sign on to sign off. Ten hours is actually longer than the 8 hours limit on working days that workers all over the world have won through militant struggles.
This assurance has not been implemented. In 50 years the number of trains has steeply risen, as has their speed. Today for long stretches of their working day, engine drivers end up encountering signals at intervals of less than a minute. This requires high levels of concentration since even momentary lapses can cause bad accidents. In the light of this, even 8 hours of continuous duty is not safe.
Instead of increasing the number of posts and recruiting and training more engine drivers, the number of vacancies in every category including that of the running staff increases year after year. As a result, the working day routinely stretches to more than ten hours and can even go up to 16 hours.
- Weekly rest in addition to trip rest
As per the obligation of the ILO convention and the decision of the RLC (Regional Labour Commissioner) Bangalore, the trip rest and weekly rest are separate. This has been reiterated by the High Court of Karnataka. Despite this, the railway administration is combining them to the detriment of the running staff. The High Power Committee (HPC) has also recommended 40 hours periodic rest to the Staff. This recommendation is being ignored.
- Limit continuous night duties to two
The study conducted by the Research Design and Standard Organization of the Railways shows that the midnight to early morning shift produces greatest stress on drivers as their mental alertness is affected during these hours. Working on the second consecutive night impacts it further and leads to lapses. Working on consecutive night shifts is really hazardous and is the root cause of many operational lapses. After a detailed study, the High Power Committee (HPC) recommended the reduction of consecutive night duty to two as a general rule. This recommendation has not been implemented.
- Limit out station detention to 48 hours
The nature of the work of the Loco Running Staff is such that after their shift they are often hundreds of kilometers away from their homes and have to stay there for rest. Frequent absences from home cause hardships to the drivers as well as their families and are harmful for both their physical and mental health. The HPC has recommended to reduce the out station detention to 48 hours, but the Loco Running Staff are still made to stay at out station for 72 hours based on the rules framed 6 decades ago. 72 hours means 3 full days out of 7!
All of this show that there no effective mechanism to redress the grievances of the workers. It is condemnable that the Indian Railway authorities continue to blatantly violate the rights of railway workers putting the safety of passengers at risk.
MEL supports the struggle of the loco pilots. Their demands are just. Their well-being is crucial for the safety of all passengers travelling by the Indian Railways!