A copy of the statement jointly brought out by Lok Raj Sangathan (Maharashtra Committee) and Kamgar Ekta Chalwal on the just demands of the All India Loco Running Staff Association has been received by Mazdoor Ekta Lehar. The statement is call to the working class of the whole country to unite and we are reproducing it below for our readers.
A copy of the statement jointly brought out by Lok Raj Sangathan (Maharashtra Committee) and Kamgar Ekta Chalwal on the just demands of the All India Loco Running Staff Association has been received by Mazdoor Ekta Lehar. The statement is call to the working class of the whole country to unite and we are reproducing it below for our readers.
The All India Loco Running Staff Association, representing more than 1 Lakh engine drivers of the Indian Railways, is holding its National Convention in Mumbai on the 31st of August 2010. Mumbai was chosen as the venue since it is in this city that the heroic motormen struck work on May 3rd and 4th 2010 to protest their terrible working conditions. This two-day strike completely paralysed the city and showed to the entire country the might of the united motormen of Mumbai.
The plight of the engine drivers of the Indian Railways is very similar to that of the motormen. They have to work at a stretch for more than 16 to 17 hours without a break. They do not get sufficient rest in between duty periods. They are demanding rest of one day per week as against the existing practice of a rest period of 30 hours four times a month. If an engine driver finishes duty at 10 AM today and joins for duty at 4 pm tomorrow, then it is said that he has got rest for 30 hours and this is treated as equal to a weekly holiday!
Such long duty hours with irregular timings and in the absence of sufficient rest in between has shattered the health and family relations of a large section of the engine drivers. A large majority of them have been rendered medically unfit before the attainment of retirement age and another large section of them “voluntarily” retire and leave the service; unable to withstand the inhuman conditions of work.
The minimum qualification for recruitment as an engine driver is matriculation with ITI and preferably Diploma in Engineering. After selection they have to undergo a 9 months stringent training. In addition they have to maintain a standard of “Aye One” through out the service as Running staff.
In spite of this, they are put on the low grade pay scale of Rs 1900/ pm whereas the lowest grade pay scale of the Central Government is Rs 1800/ pm. The engine drivers are demanding an upward revision of their entry-level pay scale. Besides these demands engine drivers are asking for increase in pay and allowances as per Government’s own 6th Pay commission recommendations.
Brothers and Sisters,
The Engine Drivers of the Indian Railways discharge a very important duty – to safely transport the most precious asset, that is, take the working people of India from one part of the country to another. In addition they transport goods, raw materials and finished goods from one place to another. Their demands are just and in spite of this successive governments at the Centre have paid scant regard to these. Whether it is Congress, BJP or Third Front Governments, all have instituted various committees but none have taken any action to fulfill the just demands of the engine drivers.
The engine drivers of the Indian Railways have a long and glorious history of militant struggle in defence of their rights. They were the spearhead of the historic All India Railway Strike of 1974 which lasted for 20 days and in which 17 lakh railway workers took part.
The engine drivers of India are deliberating at this National Convention on the way forward. Lok Raj Sangathan and Kamgar Ekta Chalwal fully support the just demands of the hardworking and toiling engine drivers of the Indian Railways and will do all they can to rally other sections of the fighting workers in support of just demands of the engine drivers.
Today all sections of the working people are rising up in arms against the increasing attacks on their livelihood. They are faced on the one hand with skyrocketing prices and on the other hand with long hours of duty, marginal or no rise in pay, and increasing contractualisation of work.
The big capitalist corporations do not honour even the meager protection that is provided under the existing laws. They are demanding from the Central as well as State Governments, which are under their control, to further remove any restriction on their right of unbridled exploitation of the land and labour of the Indian people. The big Indian Monopolies have the dream of becoming Global Giants riding on the backs of a billion Indians.
The Indian working class has to challenge this vision, which is benefiting only a handful. It must put forth its own vision for the Indian society, which would be in the interest of all the toiling people. Lok Raj Sangathan and Kamgar Ekta Chalwal call on the engine drivers of India, and their organisation, the All India Loco Running Staff Association, to actively take part in elaborating this vision for a new India.