Recognised rail unions should set up offices in SCoR headquarters, say activists

The Divisions under SCoR would likely be neglected as there is no General Manager to protect its interests at the moment, says Chalasani Gandhi, former general secretary, ECoR Shramik Union.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There is an urgent need for the recognised railway trade unions — All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) and the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) — to open their zonal offices in Visakhapatnam, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already laid the foundation stone for construction of the SCoR Zonal Headquarters in Visakhapatnam.

These trade unions would have to play a key role in protecting the interests of the newly-formed South Coast Railway (SCoR), be it in the form of division of assets, liabilities, and allocation of employees. The AIRF and NFIR were elected as the recognised trade unions in the respective zones in the recent elections, says Chalasani Gandhi, former general secretary, East Coast Railway Shramik Union (ECoRSU) and former vice-president of AIRF said in a statement on Wednesday.

Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions would form part of the new SCoR Zone. Visakhapatnam Division (residual part of Waltair Division) which was earlier under East Coast Railway (ECoR) and Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal Divisions were earlier under the South Central Railway (SCR). ECoR has its headquarters in Bhubaneswar and SCR has its headquarters in Secunderabad.

A General Manager is yet to be appointed for SCoR. The Zonal officers of ECoR would give priority to Khurda, Sambalpur and Rayagada, which are under their jurisdiction, and SCR Zonal officials would give priority to Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Nanded divisions, under their jurisdiction. The new divisions – Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal – under SCoR would be neglected in all likelihood as there is no General Manager to protect its interests at the moment. The recognised unions, under SCoR would have to keep a constant watch and fight against any injustice to SCoR, says Mr. Gandhi.

He alleged that once SCoR Zone formation became evident, hundreds of posts, pertaining to Waltair Division, were transferred to Khurda and Sambalpur divisions. The division of assets is a key issue during the bifurcation of zones, and it has to be done to prevent injustice to any of the zones. The unions should also protect the interests of the people of Visakhapatnam region as also those Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal in the allocation of staff among the zones.

The central leaders of both the national railway trade unions have to immediately announce the general body members of SCoR and begin their activities without any further delay, he said.