NF Railway employees protest against 30,000 job cuts

Tens of thousands of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) employees have launched a massive protest demonstration outside the NFR Headquarters in Maligaon, venting their anger against the Railway Board’s contentious directive to abolish 30,000 posts across Indian Railways.

The demonstration marked the culmination of a fortnight-long nationwide protest called by the Bhartiya Railway Mazdoor Sangh (BRMS), which ran from May 15 to May 29. In the Northeast, the agitation was spearheaded by the Purvottar Simant Railway Karmachari Sangh (PSRKS) and the Northeast Frontier Railway Mazdoor Sangh, mobilising workers across various divisional headquarters through rallies, postering, and intensive awareness campaigns.

As part of the agitation, railway unions had earlier submitted memoranda on May 22 through respective Divisional Railway Managers, addressed to the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Railway Board, demanding an immediate reversal of the policy.

Addressing the massive gathering at Maligaon, Union General Secretary Harish Bhuyan heavily criticised the Railway Board’s “arbitrary policy”. He pointed out the stark contradiction in the Government’s approach, noting that while Indian Railways is pursuing rapid modernisation — including the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme to upgrade 1,275 stations, dedicated freight corridors, track doubling, electrification, and the expansion of high-speed Vande Bharat trains — the administration is systematically shrinking its workforce.

Union leaders argued that the introduction of modern infrastructure, locomotives, and advanced coach manufacturing units requires a substantial increase in manpower to ensure safety and efficiency, rather than freezing recruitments and abolishing existing vacancies.