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The All-India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) has warned the Union Government that it will be left with no other option but to call for a strike if the latter does not honour the agreements made with the unions.
At a press meet here on Tuesday, the federation general secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra said the attitude of the Government had forced the federation to put up such a stance.
He was in the city to participate in the 88th annual conference of the federation being hosted by the East Coast Railway Shramik Union for the first time here from December 18-20.
He said that on the strike threat of the AIRF, the Fifth and Sixth Pay Commissions were appointed and on the recommendations of those commissions, pay scales, allowances and other benefits were improved.
Cadre restructuring
Though the process of cadre restructuring had been widened and many anomalies resolved, many problems were yet to be resolved. He said that a secret ballot would be held during the three-day conference and the views of the delegates would be elicited on the proposed strike.
Mishra accused the Government of delaying implementation of some of the agreements that were already made with the unions and this was leading to frustration among employees.
He sought a definite timeframe for settlement of the demands. The conference would discuss challenges facing railwaymen and the railways and how to save the railways from an impending crisis in view of the severe resource crunch. Though rationalisation of fares was being suggested as a solution, he felt that the fare increase should not affect the poor.
He also demanded that the Union Government fund the infrastructure projects of the railways for the next five years, failing which safety, productivity and efficiency would suffer.
East Coast Railway Shramik Union General Secretary Ch. Gandhi said that around 2,000 delegates of AIRF, national and international leaders including International Transport Workers Federation leaders from London, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia were expected to attend the conference.
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