Rayagada railway staff protest, seek clarity on postings, seniority issues

Family members of railway employees formerly part of the Waltair Division, now assigned to the Rayagada (RGDA) Division under East Coast Railway, gathered outside the Divisional Railway Manager's office in Rayagada on Tuesday. Their protest centered on the release of the Joint Procedure Order (JPO) and a reassessment of recent postings in Visakhapatnam, following the creation of South Coast Railway as a distinct zone on June 1.

In their submission to the DRM, the employees argued that Para 9.3 of the Departmental Procedure (DPR) required them to provide input on postings in both Visakhapatnam and Rayagada divisions. They voiced concerns over the lack of this process, and demanded that seniority and precedence be upheld. Additionally, they called for a temporary halt to any further postings until the JPO was finalized.

The family representatives also met with South Coast Railway's zonal headquarters in Siripuram, submitting a similar request to the authorities. Bholanath, divisional secretary of the All India Loco Running Staff Association in Visakhapatnam Division, highlighted the impact of the divisional bifurcation on employees' families. "When employees belonging to safety categories are placed under such stress, it is not good for railway safety," he stated.

Senapati Kalavathi, whose husband works in Koraput, expressed frustration over the retention of senior staff in outstation locations while junior employees were transferred to Visakhapatnam with promotions. "We only want the same justice to be done to us," she added.

Chalasani Gandhi, a senior retired railway trade union leader, emphasized that employees who once belonged to a single seniority group are now divided. He demanded the immediate issuance of a JPO or a mutually agreed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to clarify seniority, promotion, and transfer policies for employees from both divisions.

Gandhi proposed a meeting at the Railway Board level, involving the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) to present the employees' case alongside the two general managers.