New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday met 50 Loco Pilots at New Delhi Railway Station here and took stock of their working conditions.
Rahul Gandhi met Railway Loco Pilots and took stock of their working conditions (ANI) The Congress claimed that during the meeting loco pilots complained of inadequate rest. "Loco Pilots complain over long distances, far from home, and are often pressed into duty without adequate breaks. This causes great stress and lapses in concentration which is a major cause of accidents," the grand old party alleged.
"At the meeting, the loco pilots told Rahul Gandhi that they have a long pending demand of a weekly rest of 46 hours. This means a train driver returning home on Friday afternoon will return to duty no later than Sunday morning. The Railways Act 1989 and other rules already provide for 30 + 16 hours of rest per week, which is not being implemented. Airplane pilots typically also get this quantity of rest.
"They also demand that two consecutive nights of duty should be followed by one night of rest, and trains should have basic amenities for drivers," Congress said in a statement.
Accusing the Centre of a lack of recruitment in Railways, Congress said the pilots expressed their fear that this deliberate move is a plan by the Centre to privatise the railways.
During the discussion, Rahul Gandhi was told by the loco pilots that the lack of rest is caused by understaffing due to the government halting all recruitment of loco pilots. Over the past four years, the Railways' Recruitment Board has not recruited even a single loco pilot despite tens of thousands of vacancies, the party claimed.
Rahul Gandhi assured the loco pilots that he has been consistently raising the issue of railway privatisation and lack of recruitment. He listened to their concerns and fully supported their demand for adequate rest. He promised loco pilots to take up their demands with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
