Ministers talk to trade unions to avert rly strike

Hectic efforts are on to avert proposed railway strike from July 11. Senior ministers met railway trade unions to make them agree to withdraw their call for strike from July 11. However, no agreement could be reached on the issue of minimum salary and the mechanism of calculating the salary in the 7th Pay Commission. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured trade union leaders to consider their demand of increase in the minimum wage and calculations of salary announced in the 7th pay panel.

Trade union leaders have demanded a written assurance which the government is yet to come out with.

The government had called a meeting of trade union leaders on Thursday night at the residence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The finance minister along with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and MoS for Railways Manoj Sinha attended the meeting.

All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) Shiv Gopal Mishra told DH on Friday, “If the government agrees to our major demands, we may reconsider our call for strike from July 11. The final call will be taken on July 6 in a meeting of National Joint Action Committee of central government employees.”

He said the government has assured us that it would send our demands to the high-power committees which have been formed to look into minimum wage, allowances and calculation of salary.

Mishra said the government’s claim on enhancement of the minimum wage is false and misleading. The government has said that the wage has increased to Rs 18,000 per month from Rs 7,000.

“A new recruit currently gets approximately Rs 16,000 a month, including the Dearness Allowance. The government has increased Rs 2,000 in 10 years since the last pay commission was implemented,” he said.