An overwhelming number of Railway workers is said to have backed the call for an indefinite strike by the All-India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) to press its demands.
The AIRF completed counting of votes on Monday after conducting a strike ballot on Friday and Saturday. AIRF president Shiv Gopal Mishra will announce the outcome and the future course of action on Tuesday.
However, sources, citing initial indications, said close to 85 per cent had voted for the strike, more than the two-thirds majority needed for a union to serve an indefinite strike notice on the management.
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The AIRF, which commands the membership of 10.26 lakh out of the 13.5 lakh workers, will hold a meeting to decide on the date of the strike before serving the notice on the Railway Board.
The AIRF is demanding that the current pension scheme be replaced with a guaranteed scheme; anomalies in the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations be removed; and arrears and allowances be paid to the loco drivers of passenger and goods trains. Opposing the outsourcing of works to private companies, it wants 1.5 lakh vacant posts, meant to ensure safety, be filled, and 20,000 of the vacancies are for loco drivers.
In 2006, when railway workers voted last for a strike, the government intervened and set up the Sixth Pay Commission.
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