Hundreds of railway employees, owing allegiance to the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union, staged a protest across the zone on Friday against the Centre’s decision to allow 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Railways.
In Chennai, a large number of union members abstained from work and gathered near the General Manager’s office and raised slogans.
They alleged that the move was aimed at splitting the core operations of the railways into various sections and handing then over to multinational companies. The protest call was given by the All India Railwaymen Federation (AIRF).
SRMU general secretary N. Kanniah said that if the Centre failed to withdraw the FDI initiative and act on the long-pending demands, the employees would have no other option but to resort to an indefinite strike nationwide. A decision would be taken at the AIRF conference to be held in Hubli in November.
He said thousands of vacancies in various departments were not filled even as the railways witnessed a phenomenal growth in traffic and passengers. Many of these vacancies were in safety categories such as signal operators, loco pilots, station masters and electrical maintenance staff members.
“There was tremendous pressure on the staff as they were forced to work for several hours… This will endanger train operations and passenger safety. Many loco pilots, station masters and others are forced to work for more than 12 hours,” Mr. Kanniah said.
About 96 per cent of the employees affiliated to the AIRF had voted in favour of an indefinite strike during the secret ballot held in December last year.