Don't ignore rail workers

In its Eureka! moment, the Bibek Debroy panel, in its 353-page interim report on restructuring railways, has found that the railways’ core function should be the business of ‘only running trains', and that the housing colonies, hospitals, schools, and other basic staff welfare facilities for its employees are in its considered opinion a non-core activity which the railways has no business to be engaged in.

The panel has noted that the railways runs its own medical service with an infrastructure of 125 hospitals, 586 health units, 14,000 beds, and that there are 2,597 medical officers and 54,000 paramedical staff. It also runs one degree college, 168 railway schools and that it would like these activities to be de-linked from the railways.

Inspite of a negative feedback from various stakeholders in particular the two major recognised Unions viz the National Federation of Railwaymen  and the All India Railwaymen's Federation, who have recently concluded their month-long protest all over the 64,000km network against some of the recommendations impacting staff welfare, the committee has gone ahead in their final 319-page report to restructure on a massive scale, with no clear picture of what the final outcome would be ! 

Unfortunately, the committee does not seem to have bothered to find out how, or why, these facilities came to be created in the first place, which are now major ingredients of an effective support system for its 1.3 million dedicated work force. Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why, this largest Government industrial undertaking has not faced any industrial unrest for the last four decades!

The last major all-India railway strike in 1974 orchestrated by the inimitable George Fernandes had been a major disaster, a water-shed moment in the railway's long history of industrial relations, with almost 1,500 staff losing their jobs for acts of sabotage and other serious charges of intimidation etc.  

Since then, a permanent staff negotiating machinery called the ‘Participation of Railway Employees in Management’, with leaders of the two major unions sharing a common platform with the Members of Railway Board, has taken care of various staff grievances before they become a source for major confrontation. Moreover, it is these basic facilities of hospitals, schools, etc, which have insulated the staff, with limited financial resources, from rising inflation which cause major frustrations in a worker's life. 

Operating staff such as loco Pilots, Guards, Ticket checkers etc who have to stay for days away from their homes, do so with nary a worry as they are confident that their families are well taken care of by the organisation, providing easy and quick access to these basic facilities which do not cost a bomb. 

Historically, railways were the first ever large-scale industrial enterprise on the Indian subcontinent for which, a dozen or so companies based in the UK set up shop in India more than 160 years ago. A five per cent return guaranteed by the then Government in power ensured a rapid growth and by the time India gained independence, India had over 64,000 kms of network. 

Thousands of stations, hundreds of marshalling yards, goods sheds, locomotive and rolling stock maintenance depots, workshops, and other facilities had to be created in total wilderness, with minimal facilities available for the workers and their families to be located in. Thus, the creation of a vast support system, which the committee considers as a non-core activity, was at that time, very much a necessity and continues to be so even now, what with cost of such basic facilities being beyond the means of a common man and in particular a Government servant.  

Even after independence, while creating major manufacturing facilities such as the Chittaranjan locomotive Works near Asansol, Diesel locomotive Works at Varanasi, Integral Coach Factory near Chennai, Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala, Rail Wheel Factory at Bangalore etc each employing thousands of workers, such basic facilities were provided, in the process gaining considerable staff loyalty. 

Taking page from the railway's book, even major public sector undertakings such as the Steel Authority of India, Bharat Heavy Electricals ltd, Coal India limited, and private sector entities such as larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel etc have made a provision for such welfare measures as a part of their business plan in order to gain staff commitment and loyalty. 

If these hospitals and health units are to be de-linked, then who runs them, the private sectorIJ And at what cost to the millions of employees who have limited financial resourcesIJ Undoubtedly, major hospital groups would be only too happy to take over these sprawling facilities and turn them into profitable ventures, of course assuring free treatment for the railway staff. Unfortunately, such a arrangement could easily deteriorate into a daily struggle for those at the very bottom of the pyramid. 

Moreover, these so called non-core activities interact seamlessly within the organisation which the proposed de-linking is likely to seriously disrupt, perhaps for ever and beyond any repair. It’s a possibility worth considering before Mr Suresh Prabhu takes an irrevocable step towards avowed objective of ‘Restructuring Railways'.