CHENNAI: The 5’7 man with greying hair greeted other Railway employees and station regulars. Slightly hunched over, his eyes darted and scanned the crowds carefully, always with a mild smile on his face. “When I was younger, I joined the job with a lot of enthusiasm. It was a government job and paid well,” says Parthasarathy K, a loco pilot working at Chennai Central station. “Now, after seeing the working conditions, I’m a lot less motivated.”
The 48-year-old has been working as a stunting operator for the last 20 years. Stunting involves switching one engine or bogey and connecting it to another engine or bogey. Parthasarathy and his team ensure that the right stock — bogeys and engines — are appropriately attached. He has been working with the Indian Railways for the last 28 years, and is currently the joint general secretary for the South Zone in the All India Loco Running Station Association (AILRSA).
He joined the Railways in 1990 as an Assistant Loco Pilot (Goods), after completing his degree in Electrical Engineering in Karaikudi. The job required him to be confined to the engine room for hours at a stretch. “There are no toilets in the cabin. We have been campaigning for this since the 1990s. I would work for three days without rest and no regular off days. Loco pilots who man goods or express locomotives are overstressed and strained,” he says.
This, along with a low salary and strict working conditions, demotivated Parthasarathy. An assistant loco pilot and loco pilot could be terminated for making the smallest mistakes, without any consideration for the poor working conditions and lack of sleep.
He was promoted to a loco pilot (stunting) in 1998. This job was less taxing, with shift-based work hours and weekly rest days. It also meant that most of his work was confined to the yard and he could come home every day. This was ideal for him because he had just married his now wife of 20 years, Anuradha, earlier that year. The bespectacled man spoke calmly, with careful intent in his words. “I declined any further promotions because there were no improvements in the work environment. I would come back once every two-three days, and have to go back to work in eight hours. I could not maintain my health or my family, so I chose my family.”
His 18-year-old son has shown little to no interest in joining the Railways. “I don’t want him to join the Railways. He may join passionately, but the working condition, low pay and the fact that he may not get a proper pension means that he will not be happy and I don’t want that for him,” said Parthasarathy.
Parthasarathy was aware of the luxuries of having a job that ensured his going home to see his family in the sector. He, therefore, joined the AILRSA five years ago, to fight for the rights of loco pilots working in the railways. His main rallying points are better work conditions and proper leave.
“There have been recommendations from experts and committees. There are many plans to rectify what’s wrong, and all we have to do is implement them properly. The government has to spend money on the Railways. In the last four years, this hasn’t happened,” he said.