NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JAN 7
With “Save Railways Save Nation” slogan, Western Railway Employees’ Union (WREU), an affiliate of All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF), has staged a week-long protests from January 2 to January 7 by organising dharnas and gate meetings in all divisions falling under the Western Railways. To show our solidarity with all working class and protests the Union Government’s anti-labour policies, we are joining the Bharat Bandh tomorrow-Wednesday, said H S Pal, Divisional Secretary here on Tuesday.
Aiming to make it a mass movement by making common people aware of the government’s move, WREU president R C Sharma said, “We want to save Railways from going downhill as it is the country’s lifeline. The decision to corporatise all production units and offering 150 trains to private operators has been already opposed by unions, the latest step on reducing staff strength and outsourcing will spell doom for the public utility service of railways. We, railway employees are demonstrating against Centre’s privatisation move that willl put the financial viability of the national carrier in jeopardy.”
Sharma added that the second innings of Modi government seems to have only brought fear and uncertainties so far to the railway employees – which stands true for most of the other government departments’ employees as well. At first, the government decided to corporatise the seven production units of the railways. The plan drawn was to turn them into a single government-owned entity, namely the Indian Railway Rolling Stock Company. As opposed to the conventional rationale of the government to bring operational efficiency, WREU calls it as a “cosmetic change” of turning one legal entity into another without any tangible benefit.
BSNL a glaring example of corporatization failure
Before corporatization BSNL was a “highly profitable departmental entity”.
Now, it is a “glaring example” of a financially failed product of corporatization.
CONCOR is a golden egg laying goose
When asked “Why do the WREU oppose the corporatization of Railways?” Sharma said that the Indian Railways has 16 subsidiaries, including CONCOR (Container Corporation of India) which was established with a paid-up capital of Rs 65 crores in 1988. It has made a profit of Rs 1,689 crore in the last fiscal year. Till date it has paid Rs 8,000 crore as dividend to the government and 46 per cent dividend to its shareholders without any budgetary support. Disinvestment of a profit-making company like CONCOR will certainly prove disastrous for the IR in particular and the country in general.
Privatisation derailed railway services in four countries
In addition to this, Sharma has pointed out that The United Kingdom, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia had privatized their railways only to realize later that it was a bad decision. New Zealand and Australia have been forced to nationalize them again which put the services on right track.
Based on these facts and the national interest we are demanding the immediate decision to protect the Railways from being “sold off to private hands.”
Downsizing staff strength
The national transporter has set the target of 10% reduction in staff bill in three years and a further 30% in a phased manner. The Railways is also giving serious thought to reducing the number of its employees by offering lucrative voluntary retirement schemes (VRS) to reduce staff strength by up to 50% in a phased manner.
Sharma said that the Railways has already been running with inadequate staff posing a question mark on safety and quality. After many protests, only 1.5 lakh posts will be filled up against 5 lakh vacant posts.
As the Indian Railways, nation’s largest departmental undertaking, fear losing its public serving characteristics, we, unions are observing protests at different places across the nation.
Gujarat Mazdoor Panchayat president Yogendra Makwana, HMS, AITUC, LIC Airport employees’ union, ZRUCC, DRUCC and season ticketholders representatives and all office-bearers of the WREU were present in the meeting.
