TIRUCHY: The Railway board clarified that its direction (Appointment on compassionate grounds-cases of the second wife and her wards) on compassionate grounds has been misconstrued as accepting bigamy among its employees. At the end of 2019, the Railway board complying with a direction of the Supreme Court issued the procedure to be followed by the second wife of a railway employee in case of the employee's death.
Adding to the troubles of the transporter, some regard this as New Year gift because the direction became known at most railway zones in the first week of January. Although many senior-level and middle-level employees are familiar with the direction, most ground-level employees only have a vague idea about it.
Many ground-level employees working as track maintainers and workers in goods yards are unable to decipher this direction, which is in English. However, many workers say that they understood the subject line- 'Appointment on compassionate grounds-cases of the second wife and her wards'- in the order as appointing both the second wife and her wards (children) on compassionate grounds.
Interestingly, this generosity of the transporter has also been an impetus for disputes in some families. While some employees have started enquiring about the order, some have even approached the officials at the Railway Personal Branch and union offices to know whether the second wife and her family would get the medical and travel benefits from the railway.
"We will consider the case of compassionate ground appointment only if the employee dies during service. Some of the employees want to know whether the railway would give medical benefits to the second wife of employees. Whenever I get such personal queries, I clarify that as per the service rules, the railway can even take disciplinary action against an employee for bigamy. After that many employees have stopped asking me questions about this order," said a senior railway officer with a smile.
However, some employees admitted that the order was a great relief because they were often caught in the middle of the fights for such claims. "We would come to know about the second wife of the employee only after his demise. So, we would have to be in the middle of the fight between the wives. This order is a blessing for us. It has been clearly mentioned in the direction that we can consider such cases only after getting a no objection undertaking from the first wife or her children," a senior officer clarified.
However, some employees still believe in the false information about the direction that has been circulating on social media platforms.
An employee pointed out the need for issuing a regional language copy of such important directions.
"The railway cannot expect everyone to be familiar with English. Therefore, it should issue a copy of such orders in the regional language. Otherwise, the Railway would again face a similar situation in the future," a railway employee said.