In a bid to gain a smart and modern look and to provide better services to lakhs of travellers, Indian Railway is not shying away from taking hard decisions, and in one such decision Railway Board has decided to shed more than 11,000 redundant posts in different zones of the Indian Railways in the financial year 2018-2019, according to a letter by the board to all general managers.
 
The Railways board has reviewed the strength of its workforce in its 17 zones in view of changes in technology, working system and redundancies as part of its annual exercise to shed excess baggage, and reportedly identified 11,040 posts to be included in the 'pool of surrendered posts' in this fiscal. These positions have been vacant for long or those which have been rendered redundant due to technological advancement. Notably, around 10,000 such posts were surrendered by the Railways last year.
 
According to the letter, Northern Railway and Southern Railway have been asked to shed the highest number of posts - 1,500 each, followed by 1,100 posts in Eastern Railway and 1,000 post in Central Railway.
 
Currently, the Indian Railways employs 1.34 million people and wage bill comprises nearly 50 per cent of its working expenses.
 
"Every year, targets are given to the zonal railways to identify surrendered posts after analysing the work involved. Some zones meet the targets, some do it partially and some don't. But this exercise is essential as the posts included in the 'Pool of Surrendered Posts' are used to create safety category posts needed for new assets," an official told PTI.
 
On restructuring of the railways, the Bibek Debroy committee submitted its report in 2015, recommending the national transporter to opt for staff rationalization, redeploying employees more efficiently or cutting down strength where necessary for its long-term viability.
 
Watch this Zee Business video

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Indian Railway unions have, however, raised a protest claiming that it was not possible to surrender posts at a time when the number of trains being introduced is increasing manifold.