CHENNAI: Months after permitting re-induction of retired railway employees, aged below 65, to fill vacancies in crucial jobs, the Railways has decided to give technical posts in various engineering departments to contract employees.
In an order issued to Southern Railway (SR) on Tuesday, the Railway Board has authorised zonal railways to engage technical manpower on a contract basis in Engineering (construction), Electrical and Signal and Telecommunication departments, except Senior Section Engineer posts.
“The scheme will be valid for two years. The employees will be posted against the vacancies in the level 6 and level 7 posts,” reads the order. Contract staff recruited in level 6, will be paid between Rs 25,000 and 30,000 per month, while staff in level 7 will be given a monthly salary of Rs 32,000 to 37,000. They will be given a fixed tenure for their posts.
Presently, these technical posts are being filled through Railway Recruitment Board. In the last few months, zonal railways have re-inducted retired railway employees in various posts including safety-related operational jobs such as station master, guard, trackman, keyman, pointsman, section controller, shunting master and other technical posts. The decision faced stiff opposition from rail passengers association and employees union as they said it may endanger passenger safety.
In view of this, railway board has clarified that contract workers should not be entrusted with the duties of quality certification, safety certification, stores in charge and certification of measurements. However, the contract staff may assist regular railway supervisors in these works, the order said.
According to official records, staff strength of Southern Railway is 87,000 in six divisions, as against sanctioned strength of 1.02 lakhs. Of the 15,000 vacancies, railways have already commenced work to fill about 3000 vacancies with retired staff. The remaining vacancies are likely to get filled with contract staff.
R Elangovan, vice president of DREU, said the decision will lead to complete privatisation of Indian Railways in the near future.
“Regular and contract staff in the same department will weaken administration. It may also lead to serious doubts over the safety and quality of railway works. We strongly oppose this move,” he added.