Railway running staff postpones pre-announced strike for 10 days
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed a meeting with the PM’s Principal Secretary on Tuesday, leading to the rescheduling of the protest
The running staff members of the Bangladesh Railway postponed their pre-scheduled countrywide work abstention for 10 days as the Prime Minister's Office assured a meeting with them on Tuesday.
The Chief Coordinator of Bangladesh Railway Running Staff Oikya Parishad, Mujibur Rahman, announced this change on Sunday evening.
The staff members like loco masters, assistant loco masters, TTEs, and train guards, earlier, threatened to go on strike from Sunday midnight, demanding pension, and gratuity after adding running allowance with a basic salary.
This suspension of the strike removes the immediate concern of disrupting the nationwide rail service.
Mojibur Rahman said, "A meeting with PM's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzal Hossain Mia, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at the Prime Minister's Office, prompted the rescheduling of their protest for 10 working days."
The Oikya Parishad leaders highlight that under the law, headquarters workers should have 12 hours of rest after an 8-hour duty. However, due to a shortage of railway running staff, they are compelled to work longer hours.
Referring to the British Railways Act, these employees on moving trains are entitled to extra pay for overtime, known as the mileage allowance, in addition to their basic salary. This system offers 75% more than their pension based on the basic salary.
Despite this system benefiting running staff in terms of salary and pension, the finance ministry, in 2021, issued a notification limiting the mileage allowances. Simultaneously, the additional 75% pension increment was also revoked.
For two years, workers have conducted programs demanding the restoration of previous facilities. They've gone on strike and abstained from extra duties multiple times. After receiving assurances from senior officials, including the Director General of Railways, Railway Secretary, and Railway Minister, they suspended their protest.
However, due to the absence of a resolution, the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff Oikya Parishad declared a new strike starting on Sunday midnight.
Mujibur Rahman said after receiving the assurance from the Prime Minister's office, the strike has been suspended for 10 days. The time will not be extended by a single day thereafter.
"If the demand isn't met, the work abstention will resume as initially announced," he added.