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Published : 22 Jan 2025, 10:51 PM
Train drivers and the support staff say they are going to suspend services from Jan 28 if their demands, including pension and gratuity based on mileage and the removal of two conditions in appointment letters, are not met.
The Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers Employees Union announced the work stoppage programme at a press conference on Wednesday at the old railway station in Chattogram’s Battali.
In the written statement, Md Mojibur Rahman, general secretary of the union and chief coordinator of the Railway Running Staff Unity Council, said the interim government had been given three opportunities, but their demands remain unresolved.
“We want a permanent solution,” he added.
"An indefinite strike will begin on the 28th of January unless the finance ministry’s letter and the discriminatory conditions imposed on newly appointed running staff are withdrawn,” the statement read.
Train drivers, assistant drivers, guards, and ticket inspectors are classified as running staff and play a key role in the daily operations of train services.
Mojibur highlighted that railway running staff have been receiving pensions and gratuities based on mileage after retirement for the past 160 years.
“During political or natural crises, it is these workers who have kept the trains running,” he said.
He pointed out that running staff do not receive weekly or public holiday breaks.
However, on Nov 3, 2021, the Awami League government reduced their salaries, pensions, and gratuities to cover up corruption and financial mismanagement, Mojibur alleged.
He claimed that though the Bangladesh Railway and railways ministry supported the demands of the staff, it was the finance ministry that created the complications.
It was alleged that newly recruited running staff, including train drivers and assistant drivers, are not granted benefits similar to those of their predecessors.
According to the union’s written statement, two conditions were imposed on appointment letters issued after 2022. These state that newly recruited staff will not receive any allowances other than the running allowance for duties on moving trains, and the monthly running allowance will not exceed their basic salary.
Furthermore, pensions and gratuities will now be based on their last drawn basic salary, which the union claims violates railway laws and regulations.
