'Railway was crippled due to conflict between ministries'

Train operations across the country came to a standstill for an entire day, causing unprecedented suffering for passengers. Eventually, the railway running staff withdrew their strike at around 2 AM on the night of January 28 (Tuesday).

Mujibur Rahman, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers' Union, stated that the staff had to make this decision under pressure. However, he warned that if their demands were not met, they would resume their protests.

Speaking directly with the striking staff, it was found that they had gone on an indefinite strike due to the government's failure to resolve their demands within the given deadline. Their demands include pension and gratuity based on mileage and the withdrawal of two conditions from their appointment letters.

The protesting staff blamed the lack of resolution on the indecisiveness between two ministries—the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Finance. Since financial matters are involved, the Railway Ministry has been shifting the responsibility to the Finance Ministry, while the Finance Ministry maintains that the railway workers' demands are "unreasonable" and cannot be met.

According to the protesters, officials from both ministries have been passing the responsibility onto each other for several years without reaching a solution. The Ministry of Railways has failed to address the issue, leading to this crisis due to the ongoing dispute between the two ministries.

The Mileage Issue

Railway running staff used to receive additional pay based on mileage if they worked more than eight hours a day. In railway terms, this is called "mileage." If a running staff member operated a train for 100 kilometers, they would receive an extra day's basic pay. Assuming an eight-hour workday, their monthly work hours were equivalent to two and a half to three months of regular work.

Additionally, upon retirement, their pension and gratuity were calculated by adding 75% to their basic salary. However, on November 3, 2021, the Finance Ministry limited this benefit. After that date, newly recruited workers received fewer benefits than their predecessors.

Since 2022, two new conditions have been added to the appointment letters of new recruits. First, they will only receive a running allowance for train operations, with no additional benefits. Second, their monthly running allowance cannot exceed their basic salary. Furthermore, their pension and gratuity will now be based solely on their last drawn basic salary. This has led to significant dissatisfaction among railway employees.

Government's Stance

Economic Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed stated that the government has fulfilled the justifiable demands of railway workers as much as possible. He questioned why they were still protesting. He mentioned that overtime issues have been resolved, but other demands cannot be met due to the country's economic situation.

Ignoring the Warning

On January 27, the Ministry of Railways scheduled a meeting based on the running staff’s demands and the Finance Ministry's opinion. However, the running staff refused to attend, as they were firm on their demands. They had previously warned that if their demands were not met, they would stop train operations starting January 28. Despite this, the authorities did not take the warning seriously, nor did they take measures to alert passengers. Instead, train tickets continued to be sold.

Mujibur Rahman, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers' Union, stated, "We rejected the Railway Ministry's meeting. None of our employees attended because we knew they wouldn’t meet our demands. They would just ask for more time, so we refused to engage in discussions."

He further added, "When we protested in December, railway officials called us in and requested 10 days. I extended the deadline to December 31, but they still couldn't fulfill our demands. On January 1, we informed them that we would stop train operations from January 28."