Hyderabad: Loco pilots stage protest

Hyderabad : Loco pilots staged a dharna in front of the Divisional Railway Manager's office in Secunderabad on Thursday, demanding to implement the 10-hour duty rule from sign-in to sign-off.

Earlier in the second week of January, a massive signature campaign was organised; around 1,800 signatures were collected, and later they were submitted to the railway officials.

Protesters pointed out that the Central Government has repeatedly stated that Loco Running Staff will not be required to work more than 10 hours at a time from sign-on to sign-off. Also, the High Power Committee appointed by the Ministry of Railway recommended in 2016 to restrict the duty hours to 10 hours from sign-on to off in 2020, but it was not implemented. Still, they are forced to work 12, 16, and 20 hours at a stretch, endangering the safety of the train operation.

On the condition of anonymity, a loco pilot said, "Neither the railway is hiring more loco pilots nor have they implemented a 10-hour duty rule; the root cause of most of the problems faced by the running staff is the non-filling up of vacancies in almost all categories of running staff.

The plea is that the promotion to the various posts has been mired in a legal tangle for a very long time. The administration is not taking a proper interest in resolving these issues.

“40 hours of weekly rest should be implemented along with the 10 working hours; it is becoming hectic for us. Many times we submitted representations regarding working hours, but all fell on deaf ears.

It will be better if South Central Railway solves our pleas soon,” said Jilani Basha, member of the All India Loco Running Staff Association.

“The Higher Power Committee recommended that the running staff be given a periodical rest of 16 hours + 24 hours (calendar day), or 40 hours four times a month, and that the consequent night duty be reduced, but we are forced to work even after our duty is over, owing to a lack of loco pilots,” said another loco pilot.