E-Paper
Railway employees? bid to garner support for strike
IN A bid to garner support of its members for the proposed nationwide indefinite strike, the office bearers of various railway organisations will start the balloting process from Tuesday.
IN A bid to garner support of its members for the proposed nationwide indefinite strike, the office bearers of various railway organisations will start the balloting process from Tuesday.
This balloting process is a part of its exercise to ensure the indefinite strike that is to take place in February. Northern Railways Men’s Union will conduct the balloting process here in Varanasi, which will continue till January 8. It may be mentioned that railway employees could go on a strike only after majority of the employees favoured the move.
Northern Railway Men’s Union branch secretary Rajesh Singh, said that a number of meetings, processions and awareness rallies were being organised at different places since November 28 to mobilise the railway employees to caste their votes in favour of the proposed indefinite strike. He further added that the counting of ballots would be held in the presence of neutral persons on January 9 and later the result would be submitted to the union government.
“If the union government failed to entertain our long pending demands within 21 days, the railway employees would go on indefinite strike in the month of February,” he said. Major demands of the agitated railway employees include constitution of Sixth Pay Commission, reviewing the recommendations of Running Allowance Committee, withdrawal of new pension scheme, stopping the process of inviting private houses and corporation in railway sectors etc.
He said that the decision of indefinite strike was taken during the convention of All India Railway Men’s Union held at Mumbai, recently. He further alleged that the ‘anti- employee’ policies of union government have forced the railway workers to go for an indefinite strike.
Singh said that the union government was delaying the constitution of the Sixth Pay Commission whereas the Fifth Pay Commission had recommended for its implementation from January 1, 2006.
