MADURAI: It's the worst of times for the employees of Madurai Division of Southern Railway (MDSR) as they say they are forced to work the extra hours without weekly off or holidays, for there are over 1,000 vacancies that are remaining unfilled.
Speaking to TNIE, Joint Divisional Secretary of Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREU) R Sankara Narayanan said if the vacancies are not filled, it will eventually end up in some disaster. "The employees working in operating units (station master, pointsmen, section controller and guards), a vital section, are forced to work for hours continuously, draining them out both mentally and physically. This puts the lives of passengers at stake. The situation has been the same in the unit for the last two years," he said.
Sankara Narayanan said the job of points man involves handling railroad points or switches. "He controls the lever and jerks the train onto the track or to the desired direction. It is a key post of the safety department," he pointed out.
He added, in Madurai division, though the railway line in the entire section between Tiruchy and Tirunelveli has been doubled due to the volume of line capacity engineering staff are available only in the Madurai to Dindigul section. "So, the Southern Railway sanctioned the creation of additional posts to ensure the safety of running trains," he added.
SRMU Zonal Secretary J M Rafiq said due to the vacancies, the employees working in the safety department are forced to work up to 42 hours at a stretch. "As per the Train Vehicle Unit(TUV) gate keepers are forced to work 12 hours. It is not good for their health. Similarly, staff working in operating units are working more than the prescribed eight hours," he said.
He further said, "Though Railway Recruitment Cell (RRC) invited applications to fill various posts in 2019, they did not conduct the exams. The results of Railway Recruitment Board(RRB) examination conducted in 2020 is yet to be declared," he said.
Confirming the vacancies in the division, a higher official, on condition of anonymity, said around 1,380 out of the total 8,709 posts in the division are lying vacant. "However, the work of the employees and the operation of trains are not affected," he added.
Vacancies
563 in Engineering division
128 Station Master
120 Points men
120 in Traction Distribution Section
40 Junior Engineers across departments
26 Welders
50 Loco pilots and guards