Delhi Metro services in the national Capital may come to a halt on Friday evening as the non-executive staff of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have planned to boycott working from Friday evening to Saturday (whole day) if their demands are not fulfilled.
“If our demands are not met by June 29 evening (Friday), we will go on hunger strike and work in that condition, and drivers will drive in that condition. And, if anything happens to our members or to commuters then the DMRC shall be responsible for it,” said Ravi Bhardwaj, Secretary, DMRC Staff Council.
There are nearly 12,000 people employed with the transporter, with non-executive staffers accounting for about 9,000. Some of the non-executive staff of the DMRC have been demonstrating at a few metro stations, including Yamuna Bank and Shahdara, since June 19 in support of their eight-point demand.
The DMRC Staff Council had given a call to all members to join the agitation but not all have participated in the stir.
The non-executive workforce includes train operators, station controllers, operations and maintenance staff and technicians, and form a major component in the operation of the rapid rail network.
However, scores of metro staff are protesting symbolically and also managing their work for the last three days at various interchange stretches demanding staff representation body, job security, security in work place, arrear payments, occupational safety and health & maternity leave and proper guidelines for sacking of an employee and that too in extreme conditions and reinstatement of metro staff that have been terminated.
Staff members from different department such as operating, technical, station controller, train operator, and others gathered in the interchanges such as Yamuna Bank, Dwarka, Shahdra, Huda City Centre, Mundka, Badarpur and Punjabi Bagh to mark their protest.
“We all are protesting since last three days without having food and are also equally continuing are our work but if our issues will not be resolved, we will go on a complete hunger strike and will not do any work, “said Ravi Bharadwaj, head of the Delhi Metro Staff Council.
“We also come from poor background but our requests and needs are always ignored by the DMRC. last year in July also we did a protest demanding for the same things and the management said it would address the issues but it did not fulfil its promise. More than 30 staff have been terminated immediately without any showcause notice and last warning that too for just committing minor mistakes during the work,” claimed the protesting staff at Yamuna Bank.
Further Bhardawaj added, “We do not have a proper body for the staff. If anyone takes forward any issue, the management threatens with terminating from the job. We are demanding for implementing the third pay revision for the employees, revision of the allowances pending, guidelines for the working of station operation staff and security for the workers. If our issues will not be resolved, we will gherao the metro and will not work.”
The metro staff council also said that they have also submitted a memorandum regarding their issues to the Delhi Metro authorities and the Union Urban Affairs Ministry.
However, when contacted the DMRC, the official said, “Till now everything is going on smoothly but let’s see what happens on June 30. However, these are regarding internal issues and we are looking into it and will be addressed.”