KOCHI: The protests brewing among the railway staff over a new work schedule have reached a tipping point with the senior divisional engineer deciding to pull out a significant number of attenders in AC coaches under the Thiruvananthapuram division.According to the Southern Railways Mazdoor Union (SRMU) members, a section of attenders in the trains has been pulled out. “At least one attender each has been pulled out from the Kerala Express, Thiruvananthapuram-Palakkad Amrita Express, Thiruvananthapuram Corba Express, Howrah Express, Veravel Express and the Garbha-Thiruvananthapuram Express,” an engineer with the electrical section of the Thiruvananthapuram Division told ‘Express’. The SRMU members said the decision was taken putting the safety of the passengers at stake. “Reducing the number of attenders in AC coaches is equivalent to depriving the passengers of their safety, especially since these passengers would be travelling long distances. There were days when the Kochuveli and the Kerala Express ran without attenders in the trains. This is an extremely dangerous situation, when these trains venture into the northern parts of the country. Withdrawing attenders at the cost of passengers, who travel long distances is unacceptable,” SRMU division president Unnikrishnan said. The attenders are persons who ensure the security of the passengers by ensuring that no trespassers enter the trains late in the night. They should also ensure that the shutters are closed in the night. Also, supplying bed rolls, guiding the passengers to their seat number, ensuring cleanliness in the coaches and checking the availability of water in the toilets are all part of their job. “Reducing the number of attenders is a threat to us too. We are forced to face the wrath of passengers who say the Railways has no consideration for them,” Unnikrishnan said.The recommendation paper submitted by the Thiruvananthapuram division to its headquarters in Chennai in 2010 showed that they were having shortage of attenders. According to the paper, the total number of staff needed in the division was 1082 whereas only 381 attenders were present. “The pull out at such a time shows that the Railways is reeling under strong financial crunch,” a Railway official said. However, Senior Divisional Engineer of the Thiruvananthapuram division of the Railways, Mohan Pillai, denied the allegations. “We have not taken such a drastic step. These are just the allegations of the union members, who fear privatisation. We have only decided to reduce the number of overtime of each of the attenders, who sometimes draw up to Rs 1,30,000 per month. “Since there is a staff shortage, we are forced to provide overtime to each staff, which is costing the railways heavily. So, we have reduced the hours of their overtime and decided to give them extra compensatory off so that they can spend more time with their families,” Mohan Pillai said.Railway unions state that the figure is exaggerated and that the maximum amount the attenders receive whenever they do overtime was Rs 40,000. Also, they allege that the Senior Divisional Engineer in Thiruvananthapuram had taken the decision without the assent of the Senior Divisional Personal Officer. Meanwhile, the trade unions, SRMU and DREU, observed black day on Wednesday against the various decisions taken by the Thiruvananthapuram Division.
Comments
0 comment