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Time of India
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Railways during Emergency: Trains on time, but veterans also recall long working hours
Amidst several bitter memories of 21 months of Emergency in India 50 years ago, veteran railway employees recall mixed experiences during the period -- the praise received for trains running on time and the difficulty of long working hours with no avenues for grievance redressal. Veteran trade union leader Shiv Gopal Mishra said that senior officers were held responsible for the delay in train services, and that's why there was a huge focus on punctuality. "I remember an incident when some lower-level railway employees were suspended for lack of water in (the then Railway minister) Kamlapati Tripathi's saloon attached to the Kashi Vishwanath Express train. He used to perform puja in his private coach while travelling to Kashi, and during one of those days, water couldn't be pumped up, resulting in a lack of water in his coach," Mishra, who worked as a junior engineer at Lucknow station in 1977, said. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 30:13 Loaded : 0.29% 00:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 30:13 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Ads By Google Ad will close in 29 Skip ad in 4 Skip Ad by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chuck Norris: If You're Over 60, Avoid These 3 Foods Like The Plague Roundhouse Provisions Watch Now Undo He added, "The rail administration suspended some lower-level workers for dereliction of duties. However, when the minister came to know about it, he immediately ordered the revocation of the suspension." According to Mishra, in those days, instead of penalising lower-level officers, action was taken against senior officials for late running of trains, due to which it was ensured with more alacrity that all trains stick to their assigned time of arrival and departure. Live Events Mishra, presently the general secretary of All India Railwaymen's Federation , said, "Besides my official position in Railways, I was a branch assistant secretary of the workers' union too." Cleanliness was also ensured, another retired railway employee, not willing to be quoted, said, adding that senior officers were asked to remain in the field for eight hours to keep a watch on the trains' working, stations and surrounding areas. "They ensured cleanliness because they knew they would be the first in the firing line. There were nine railway zones at that time, which have now been increased to 17. Also, trains were not as crowded as they are today," he said. "There was no corruption, so far as I remember, in the railways as officers were aware of severe action. Workers and senior officers were treated equally on the working hours front," he said. Mishra also felt that corruption was at its lowest point in railways among senior officials during the Emergency days. Retired loco pilot P Vijaykumar, who used to drive passenger trains in 1977, said that there were no fixed working hours for drivers and often they used to pilot trains for more than 14 to 16 hours and sometimes even 24 hours. "We were not able to negotiate with the government, hold meetings or do anything to raise the workers' demand," Vijaykumar said, adding that before Emergency, there was an agreement with the government to give a 10-hour shift to loco pilots.
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Railways during Emergency: Trains on time, but veterans also recall long working hours
New Delhi, Amidst several bitter memories of 21 months of Emergency in India 50 years ago, veteran railway employees recall mixed experiences during the period the praise received for trains running on time and the difficulty of long working hours with no avenues for grievance redressal. Railways during Emergency: Trains on time, but veterans also recall long working hours Veteran trade union leader Shiv Gopal Mishra said that senior officers were held responsible for the delay in train services, and that's why there was a huge focus on punctuality. "I remember an incident when some lower-level railway employees were suspended for lack of water in Kamlapati Tripathi's saloon attached to the Kashi Vishwanath Express train. He used to perform puja in his private coach while travelling to Kashi, and during one of those days, water couldn't be pumped up, resulting in a lack of water in his coach," Mishra, who worked as a junior engineer at Lucknow station in 1977, said. He added, "The rail administration suspended some lower-level workers for dereliction of duties. However, when the minister came to know about it, he immediately ordered the revocation of the suspension." According to Mishra, in those days, instead of penalising lower-level officers, action was taken against senior officials for late running of trains, due to which it was ensured with more alacrity that all trains stick to their assigned time of arrival and departure. Mishra, presently the general secretary of All India Railwaymen's Federation, said, "Besides my official position in Railways, I was a branch assistant secretary of the workers' union too." Cleanliness was also ensured, another retired railway employee, not willing to be quoted, said, adding that senior officers were asked to remain in the field for eight hours to keep a watch on the trains' working, stations and surrounding areas. "They ensured cleanliness because they knew they would be the first in the firing line. There were nine railway zones at that time, which have now been increased to 17. Also, trains were not as crowded as they are today," he said. "There was no corruption, so far as I remember, in the railways as officers were aware of severe action. Workers and senior officers were treated equally on the working hours front," he said. Mishra also felt that corruption was at its lowest point in railways among senior officials during the Emergency days. Retired loco pilot P Vijaykumar, who used to drive passenger trains in 1977, said that there were no fixed working hours for drivers and often they used to pilot trains for more than 14 to 16 hours and sometimes even 24 hours. "We were not able to negotiate with the government, hold meetings or do anything to raise the workers' demand," Vijaykumar said, adding that before Emergency, there was an agreement with the government to give a 10-hour shift to loco pilots. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
News18
06-06-2025
- Business
- News18
DA Arrears: When Will Central Govt Employees Receive 18-Month Frozen Amount?
Last Updated: The arrears pertain to 3 installments of DA hikes -- spanning the period from January 2020-June 2021 -- which were frozen as part of fiscal tightening measures during the pandemic. DA Hike: The long-standing demand for the restoration of 18 months of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) arrears has once again come to the forefront, as central government employees continue to press for the release of the frozen dues. The issue was raised afresh during the 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Council of the Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM), held on April 23, 2025. The staff side of the NC-JCM strongly reiterated its demand for the payment of arrears that were withheld during the COVID-19 pandemic. The arrears pertain to three installments of DA/DR hikes — spanning the period from January 2020 to June 2021 — which were frozen as part of fiscal tightening measures during the nationwide crisis. The government has maintained that the fiscal burden resulting from the pandemic and various financial welfare schemes introduced during the crisis made it infeasible to release the withheld amount. The government noted that the economic fallout of COVID-19 extended beyond FY 2020-21, impacting budgetary decisions in subsequent years. This is not the first time that the staff side has raised the issue. Ahead of the Union Budget 2025, representatives of the NC-JCM had written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging the government to consider releasing the pending arrears, citing both financial justice and rising living costs for employees and pensioners. DA Revision Mechanism Disrupted During COVID-19 Under normal circumstances, DA for government employees and DR for pensioners are revised twice a year—in January and July — based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, amid the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, the government froze DA hikes for 18 months, impacting nearly 50 lakh central government employees and over 60 lakh pensioners. Although DA hikes were resumed from July 2021 onwards, the frozen installments were never retrospectively paid, leading to consistent demands for their restoration by employee unions and staff federations. 8th Pay Commission Formed, But Clarity Awaits The demand for arrears has gained further attention in light of the government's approval of the 8th Pay Commission in January 2025. Scheduled to be implemented from January 1, 2026, the Commission is expected to overhaul salary, pension, and allowance structures for central government employees. However, despite its approval, the Commission's Terms of Reference (ToR) and the official appointment of its members are still pending. This has added to the uncertainty over whether employee concerns — including the unresolved DA arrears — will find a place in the new Commission's mandate. 'We expect the Terms of Reference to get the government's nod soon. It should be approved at the earliest," Shiv Gopal Mishra, secretary of the Staff Side of NC-JCM, has said in a recent statement to NDTV Profit. No Timeline Yet for Arrears Restoration While the demand for the release of DA/DR arrears continues to gather steam, no official commitment or timeline has been announced by the government so far. For now, employee unions remain hopeful that the matter will be addressed either through the 8th Pay Commission process or via separate financial consideration by the Centre. Until then, the 18-month DA/DR freeze remains an unresolved chapter in the post-pandemic financial landscape for lakhs of central government employees and pensioners. First Published: June 06, 2025, 14:49 IST
