Railway workers threaten to stop turning the wheel

The All-Pakistan Loco Running Staff Association of Pakistan Railways announced on November 21 that its workers would not transport any passengers or goods according to the law on work to rule because the company has not provided the required safety facilities or filled the necessary requirements of the government.

After the announcement passenger trains were delayed from one to six hours while transport trains were unable to leave from Karachi to other parts of the country. According to the law on work to rule engine drivers and shunters can drive engines in railways yards, causing the railways to suffer heavy losses. Although passenger trains are moving very slowly and are routinely delayed for many hours, the protest continues. The railways administration is oblivious to the conditions of the passengers and has a stubborn attitude towards the demands of the workers.

In 1993 the railways were subjected to the black laws of the Ministry of Defence which banned trade unions on open lines. In 1999 General Pervez Musharraf appointed a retired general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as the head of railways, who banned all trade unions on all railways. Thousand of railway workers, which included many trade union leaders, were either suspended from their jobs or forced into retirement. General Javed Ashraf Qazi suspended 14,000 workers from the railways while 20,000 jobs were scrapped from the list. Railway workers and unions resisted these oppressive measures and this resistance continues to this day. After the ban on unions Loco Running Staff continued its work under the guise of its own welfare association. They started this new wave of protests on November 22 in which other railway workers are also joining in big numbers. If the government does not accept the demands of the workers the situation could lead to a massive strike.

The leaders of the Loco Running Staff have explained that they are working according to work to rule laws, according to which they will only drive the trains when all the lights, water, engines and other necessary things are fit. They will not drive the trains in poor conditions and will not risk the lives of themselves and thousands of passengers. Fit trains will only be driven at the speed as described in the law. Train drivers will stop working after their 12-hour maximum, and the train will be handed over to the next crew. The association leaders have explained that the administration has pressuring them to drive unfit and unsafe trains and to work for 24 to 36 hours in one shift. The demands of the workers are genuine and real, and the government must address these demands.

Other staff members also joined with the drivers in their strike in Karachi and the Railway Workers' Federation also supports them. The following are the demands of the workers of Loco Running Staff:

1.They should be given pay scale 14 and 16 instead of scale 11 as promised by the Minister of Railways.

2. A 100 percent increase should be given in running allowance

3. The assistant driver should be given scale 11, as he is diploma holder

4. The deputy driver (Shunter) should be paid at scale 12

5. One day maximum mileage should be restored to the levels in 1983

6. Full pay should be given for work on Sunday

7. 55 percent of the running allowance should be made part of basic salary

8. In case of any accident no FIR should be filed against the driver and assistant driver, rather formal procedures should be taken according to railway laws as was done before

9. The shortage in the number of drivers should be solved and undue punishments and show cause notices should stopped.

The workers have said that they are working according to the laws of railways in which it is said that they should strictly check the engine, it's fuel and running before taking its charge. They have explained that because they are work according to the letter of the law, such as following speed limits, following all signals (both fixed and hand signals), then trains will be late because most of the passenger and transport trains are in poor condition and according to law they should not even be on the tracks. Loco Running staff have been risking their own lives, and the lives of passengers on the instructions of the administration.

Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign president and Member of the National Assembly, Comrade Manzoor Ahmed, has publicly supported the demands of the railway workers and has said that he will raise this matter not only in the National Assembly but internationally.