Railway employees to decide on general strike

Railway employees will take a final call on whether to go on a general strike to press for their 36-point charter of demands including jobs for wards of employees on VRS.

Employees of the national transporter will be participating in the two-day nation-wide 'strike ballot' from Friday to decide on the future course of action.

The 'strike ballot' will be held on December 20 and 21 and its outcome will be known on December 23.

'Strike ballot' is a secret ballot conducted among members of a union to determine whether to go on strike.

There are about 14 lakh railway employees in railways. "Since Railway Ministry and the central government are quite indifferent and have not resolved our long-pending demands, we have no other alternative except to resort to strike ballot," General Secretary of All-India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) Shiva Gopal Mishra said.

Their charter of demands also include change of new pension scheme to guaranteed pension scheme, fixed quota for wards of railway men in railway recruitment board and railway recruitment cell, flexible timings for women and ministerial staff and exempting women railway employees from night shifts in the open line.

He claimed that more than one million railway employees will be participating in the 'strike ballot'.

Based on its outcome, AIRF will chalk out the future course of action, Mishra added.