The corporation has now decided to keep the order in abeyance till further notice.

IRCTC to terminate services of over 500 catering supervisors? According to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), as hospitality supervisors were not required under the present circumstances, it was eyeing to terminate the services of more than 500 hospitality supervisors. However, the corporation has now decided to keep the order in abeyance till further notice. According to sources quoted in a PTI report, the contracts of most of these workers are likely to get over by this year-end. In 2018, IRCTC hired around 560 hospitality supervisors to maintain a quality check on contractors assigned to cater food in trains that are equipped with pantries.

The work of these supervisors is to monitor onboard pantry car operations, which includes looking after the food preparation, quality inspection, handling complaints of passengers, as well as to ensure that food charges are according to prices notified by Indian Railways.

In a letter dated June 25, IRCTC informed all its zonal offices that under the present circumstances, there was no requirement for these contractual workers and they be given notice of one month and their contracts terminated. However, IRCTC spokesperson Siddharth Singh indicated that the organization was rethinking the matter. The corporation is mulling if it can reconsider the decision and certain measures will be taken in this regard, he said. However, the report further stated that for those who have been handed termination letters already, it seems like no turning back.

According to the report, the contractual hospitality employees have sought the intervention of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. Many of the employees whose contracts were terminated received their letters on 26 June 2020, according to the sources quoted in the report. The employees, in a letter to IRCTC, have said that they were willing to take a 5 to 15 per cent pay cut, but appealed that they not be terminated. In the letter, the employees also stated that they played a major role in increasing revenue. The letter further stated that IRCTC, in the backdrop of COVID-19 outbreak, became a role model to other private sectors by safeguarding the employment of its own establishment till COVID-19 neutralized.