Bangladesh
Railway Railway's running staff postpone strike
Dhaka, August 28: The Railway Running Staff and Sramik Karmachari Samiti announced to go on strike from 12 midnight on Sunday as the complications regarding payment of pension and gratuity by adding running allowance to the basic salary were not resolved. The organization postponed that decision at 6:30 pm on Sunday.
General Secretary of Railway Running Staff and Sramik Karmachari Samiti Md. Mojibur Rahman confirmed the matter at 6:45 pm on Sunday.
He said, "The Prime Minister's office has assured us that our demands will be met. A meeting will be held there on August 29 (Tuesday). We have postponed our strike for the next 10 working days with this assurance from the high level. Details will be given later."
The running staff have been agitating for more than one and a half years demanding the reinstatement of 'mileage' benefits along with pension after retirement. They went on strike and refrained from additional work. However, they withdrew from the movement with the assurance of senior officials including the Director General of Railways, Railway Secretary, Railway Minister. This time they announced going on an indefinite strike to collect their demands.
Railway running staffers said that as per the law, they are supposed to rest for 12 hours after completing their 8-hour duty at the headquarters. But due to the shortage of railway workers, they resumed work after resting for 7-8 hours. Railway employees want to work in the interest of railways. But the railways are not serious about their interests.
