Loco pilots’ stir called off
Union Minister assured all positive steps to address the demands of loco pilots, say AILRSA office-bearers
After hardly a month-long agitation, the loco pilots under the Southern Railway called off the strike they had been spearheading since June 1, demanding 46 hours of weekly rest among other demands. The strike has been withdrawn following a meeting with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and senior railway officials.
As part of an effort to end the strike, a team of four MPs met with the Minister for Railways and explained the demands of the loco pilots in detail. Finally, the Union Minister assured all positive steps to address the genuine demands of loco pilots, said All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) office-bearers in a statement.
The Minister also assured the delegates of MPs that necessary communication would be done to set aside all penal actions initiated against the loco pilots as part of the agitation. Over 1, 000 loco pilots were issued chargesheets as part of disciplinary action, and 30 of them were placed under suspension apart from transfers of staff involved in the strike.
Considering the assurance of the Minister, the zonal executive committee meeting of the AILRSA, held online on Friday, decided to call off the agitation for the time being.
The main demand of the association was to grant a periodic rest of 30 hours for loco pilots after the daily travel rest of 16 hours. Further, the loco pilots had decided not to work more than 10 hours at a stretch. The strike had a considerable strain on the computerised crew management system, affecting the smooth operations of freight traffic.
- Telegram
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