‘Protest was to demand weekly offs for motormen’

The agitation by the Western Railway Motormen Association (WRMS) on Friday was to demand weekly offs and the appointment of assistant motorman, convener of the association, Devendra Yadav, said.

The agitation by the Western Railway Motormen Association (WRMS) on Friday was to demand weekly offs and the appointment of assistant motorman, convener of the association, Devendra Yadav, said.

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Explaining the reason behind the withdrawal of the strike, Yadav said: “Divisional railway manager, Sandeep Silas, has assured us that our harassment at divisional level will be looked into. The problems faced by us at the divisional level will be resolved while those beyond their control will be forwarded to the railway board.”

Though this is the officially cited reason, according to sources, the main aim was to protest against the administration’s decision of selecting two motormen — who ignored the unions and reported to work

during their agitations in the past — for the post of instructors at the Mahalaxmi Training Centre, as opposed to 13 other candidates.

Last year, the Western Railway (WR) administration had assured the union that they will not appoint these candidates to the post. The unspoken demand on Friday was to scrap the appointment and take action against the selectors, said sources.

Unhappy with the agitation affecting thousands of commuters, consumer activists have demanded action against striking motormen. “The state government should punish the motormen under the Essential Services Maintenance Act, to avoid repeated strikes in the future,” said Anil Galgali, a consumer activist.