Scores of Railway Station Masters, affiliated to the All India Station Masters’ Association, staged a protest in front of the Divisional Railway Manager’s office on Thursday, pressing for a charter of demands, including promotional opportunities.
The protest was led by its divisional president, P. Mohandass, in the presence of its divisional secretary, Pon. Mariappan.
The association members said that the night duty allowance that was being given to all Station Masters (SM) has been stopped in the last few months. Seniors are now losing around ₹200 to ₹250 night duty allowance.
Since Station Masters have very limited promotional opportunities, they were given modified acquired career promotions on completion of 10 years service with an increment. However, this practice has not been implemented for the last two years, the protesters said.
The association also said that out of the 536 sanctioned strength of SMs, Madurai division has got 110 vacancies. The agitators demanded that the seniority list of SMs seeking transfer to other divisions and railways be immediately released so that they get the opportunity to return closer to their homes.
Senior association leaders, S. Kalyanram and R. Vijayarajan, were present.