An internal report of the Indian Railways prepared by its top officers has made the unprecedented recommendation to cut the salaries and dearness allowance of its 14-lakh workforce.
Former Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi may still have been in office had he cited the major cash crunch the railways is facing.
An internal report of the Indian Railways prepared by its top officers has made the unprecedented recommendation to cut the salaries and dearness allowance of its 14-lakh workforce.
The recommendation was made during the general managers’ conference held on January 11 and 12 in New Delhi.
“(The) spending limit has been communicated to the railways imposing a target of Rs4,304 crore. The areas highlighted for savings are staff costs (Salary: Rs1,300 crore, DA: Rs855 crore)…” the report says. This refers to savings in the last fiscal, 2011-12.
Ironically, had Trivedi’s proposal to hike fares been accepted, the railways would have earned an additional income of Rs3,500 crore in the current year. This would have nullified the need for any major cost-cutting exercises for the time being and not given rise to such drastic proposals.
The collective body of all the Indian Railways’ general managers had estimated that a pay cut of at least 5% of the total salary bill would yield a savings of at least Rs2,155 crore. However, when a detailed questionnaire was sent to Anil Saxena, the official spokesperson for the Union railway ministry, he failed to respond.
Besides a pay cut, the report has also recommended cutting down on expenses in several other areas, such as stores, contingent expenses, fuel and contractual payments.
Even though the official line on axing salaries came up during the conference in January, the railway employees’ union has alleged that attempts to cut salary were initiated before that as well. “Last October, efforts were made to withhold the night duty allowance. It was revoked only after the staff agitated and went on a strike for almost four hours,” said Shiv Gopal Mishra, general secretary, All India Railwaymen Federation.
Meanwhile, the report raises several concerns regarding the railways’ financial performance from April 2011 to November 2011.
“It’s earnings are short of the proportionate budget target by Rs1,953 crore, while under the ordinary working expenses, it has spent an excess of Rs2,063 crore,” it notes. With such a sorry state of affairs, pay cuts are likely to become a reality for railway employees.
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