Finance adviser assures consideration of railway workers' reasonable demands
Additional demands, including gratuity benefits, remain unmet due to financial limitations, says Salehuddin Ahmed
The government has resolved overtime issues and will consider other reasonable demands of the railway staff, said Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.
The government allocated funds to meet the reasonable demands of railway staff around 8–10 days ago. However, additional demands, including gratuity benefits, remain unmet due to financial limitations.
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat today (28 January), he said, "We have done as much as we could for humanitarian reasons. Considering the current economic situation, meeting further demands is not feasible."
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Responding to journalists, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said that reasonable demands from railway employees had been addressed several days ago. "Why they are continuing their protests is up to them."
He further clarified that matters like pensions and gratuities involve other agencies and must follow a broader framework.
"If any reasonable requests come to us, the Ministry of Finance will not deny them. If there are issues related to humanitarian reasons or employment, appropriate action will be taken," he assured.
When asked about previous allocations and the new requests, the Finance Adviser explained, "Other organisations have similar demands. We have resolved the railways' overtime issue. However, I cannot prioritise their requests separately over others."
Earlier on the day, Adviser to the Ministry of Railways Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan urged the running staff to end the strike.
"We have repeatedly called for discussions, but they have not responded. Some demands are beyond the railway's authority and fall under the finance department. We have already sent letters to them, and they will provide what is reasonable after review," he said.
The remarks came amid an ongoing indefinite strike by the running railway staff demanding pension and gratuity with their mileage allowance, which suspended railway services nationwide since this morning.
The strike stems from the staff's demands for several unresolved issues, including the inclusion of running allowances in their basic pay for pension calculations.
The railway running staff who went on strike include locomasters, assistant locomasters, sub-locomasters, guards, and ticket checkers.
The running staff often complained that although they have an eight-hour working day, they have to work an average of 15-18 hours.
They used to get a special overtime allowance, known as the mileage allowance, in addition to their basic salary. This system offers 75% more than their pension based on the basic salary. However, the Finance Ministry scrapped the mileage facility in a notification in November 2021, creating discontent among railway running staff.
In January 2022, following protests, the Finance Ministry reinstated salaries and allowances but excluded mileage benefits from pensions. The then minister yielded to demands in April 2023 and promised the issuance of a new notification.
However, the November 2021 notification has not been scrapped yet, causing pension issues.
