Shortfall in implementation of the precautions against spread of COVID-19 and misutilisation of staff

“Most of the officers are deliberately acts blind of the alarming situation prevailing in the country and have become so inhumane at heart and are trying to keep the workers on their toes in uncertain terms and will-fully drawing them and their families to the trap of danger” – Venu P. Nair, GS/CR-KR/NRMU

With the ground position of working and the arbitrary action of officers to harass railway employees, NRMU has written a letter to GM/CR and said, “even though the passenger train service are suspended as part of the Lockdown declared by the government as preventive measure against social outbreak of COVID-19, Numerous railway staff who are classified as Essential Services Personals such as Loco Pilots, Guards, Station Masters, Train Controllers, Traction Distribution Staff, Signalling Staff, Track Maintenance staff and other subordinates are entrusted to discharge their assigned duties. The medical professionals including Doctors, Nurses and other paramedical staff are striving their best to attend the emergency situation. The workshop and maintenance depot staff are being called to accomplish the mission of modifying thousands of coaches to quarantine wards”.

They all are entrusted to perform their specialised duties with sustained attention to keep the pulse of the Nation alive facilitating freightparcel movements loaded with essential commodities such as grains, pulses, vegetables, medicine, fuel and other articles. Preparation of CORONA wards are being made at Railway hospitals and staff are on their toe to deal patients. Work shop staff and maintenance depot staff are contributing their unparalleled technical skill to convert coaches to quarantine wards. They are also engaged to make PPEs, sanitisers, masks and other preventive attires to meet the expected emergency.

Adequate number of essential Staff including non essential classified commercial staff are also engaged to perform 24×7 to ensure smooth freight/parcel movements through which all essential commodities and other articles of necessity are reached people at every nook and corner of the country during this war like situation.

“We are proud to confirm the fact that all those committed staff are showing exemplary courage and competence to do their job for smooth operations of the movements interlinked with tracks, locos, signalling systems, electric distribution and operations of trains as well as hospital needs and isolation purpose which could require extremely”, said com. Venu p. Nair, General Secretary, National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU), CR/KR in his letter to General Manager, Central Railway, on 2nd April.

But the matter of irony is that these staff are going through a harrowing experience in absense of an adequate support system or complaince of prescribed protocol in tandem to severity, seriousness and criticality of the situation existing in railway disaster management profile, he writes.

Com. Nair written to GM/CR that the matter of concern is that during this shut down period of railway service declared in tune with national lockdown imposed by the Central and State Government solely for the purpose of preventing social transmission of deadly virus COVID-19, railway administration is neglecting the spirit of its decision and exploitatively using Track Maintainers, TRD, TMD & S&T staff deliberately and arbitrarily in huge groups at different locations to do non essential works of routine maintenance absolving all instructions issued by the Ministry of Health and Railway Board including advises of our Hon’ble Prime Minister.

He says, the multiple advisories to conditional use bare minimum staff only in emergency, prevention of gathering of even more than two persons at a spot with proper distensing, promulgation of 144 etc are being blatantly violated by railway officials and the random usage of staff have felicitated their dangerous exposure to the deadly disease as being resulted at Nandurbar. The case of a railway police personal who used to travel from Kalyan to CSMT and worked at CSMT Main concourse has also certified positive and the track map of the person shows numerous contacts of which some have been published by police authority.

He said in his letter that the NRMU is also being informed of the condemnable arrogance of officers of Engineering & TMD department who is sending frantic and threatening messages to staff invoking punishment for remaining at home which was done on the call of Prime Minister of the country not to venture out from home and nonavailability of all pre requisites to reach the work place and perform duties safely. It seems these officers are deliberately acts blind of the alarming situation prevailing in the country and have become so inhumane at heart and are trying to keep the workers on their toes in uncertain terms and willfully drawing them and their families to the trap of danger.

Com. Nair writes to GM/CR, “with all due respect this is to urge you that specific instruction may kindly be issued to all officers against this unacceptable attitude and approach that could invite unaccountable misery and loss of life of the poor railway staff”.

“The union, in the backdrop of the above is compelled to intimate that we will be forced to rethink about the cooperation and solidarity extended to railway administration for its efforts during this alarming situation of national calamity and will stand with the workers in their need, taking all possible actions  to defend them from peril. It is imperative to state that the possible undesirable consequences of such decision of union will solely be the irresponsible actions being taken by the administration against the interest of workforce”, he said in his letter.

In the end of his letter Com. Nair once again requested to the General Manager that, “it is therefore earnestly once again requested that you may kindly intervene personally in the matter immediately and may do the needful to tranquilize the situation appropriately”.