Ratlam: Railway employees oppose directive to surrender 50% vacant posts

Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh): National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) has strongly opposed recent instructions of the Railway Board to all the Zonal Railways for surrendering 50% of the vacant posts other than the safety category.

Western Railway Majdoor Sangh (WRMS)president Sharif Khan Pathan informed that there is heavy disappointment and discontentment amongst railway employees on the recent move of the Railway board for surrendering the posts.

He said that NFIR has demanded a review of the decision about the surrender of vacant posts without delay and demanded that a meeting be convened to discuss the issue. He informed that WRMS will hold demonstrations and dharnas all over Western Railway in protest against Railway Boardís directive if the instructions were not withdrawn.

He said that general secretary NFIR M Raghavaiah in a letter to chairman Railway Board has termed the decision of the Railway board highly arbitrary and without taking into consideration ground realities and the actual requirement of manpower other than in the safety category in the Indian Railways. Raghavaiah argued that surrender of posts would lead to disruption of the working system of Railways and will not only result in inefficiency but will affect productivity.

Most of the posts are directly related to the productivity even other than safety categories, Raghavaiah further added in his letter to the Railway Board. Pathan added that due to the non-filling of the vacancies many departments of railways are already facing difficulty in managing regular day to day activities.