Railways Gangmen Hold Protest For Your Safety

The men who take care of Mumbai’s lifeline — the local trains — went on a dharna at Mumbai Central station outside Western Railway’s (WR) office on Friday to protest poor quality of work tools, lack of safety, inadequate pay and poor quarters. Easily identified by their bright orange shirts and khaki trousers, gangmen and trackmen walk along rail lines looking for anomalies on the tracks or malfunctions which could jeopardize the smooth working of the trains.

The gangmen and trackmen of Western Railway are protesting inadequate facilities and poor quality of the equipment — such as hammers, tongs and even their uniform and boots — needed to maintain tracks.

There were joined by railway staff belonging to Western Railway Employees Union (WREU), and raised 15-points of concern, which were submitted to railway authorities. They also protested poor salaries and bad infrastructure of their staff quarters.

“The administration should have a standard of quality for the tools. Sometimes, they even break when the gangmen hit the tracks to rectify or repair them,” said J Bhosale, general secretary of WREU. Read More…

Gangmen, Western Railway, WREU