The government has cleared the proposal to hike salaries of as many as 80,000 Railways employees. Railway Board Chairman VK Tripathi told ET Now that all eligible employees of the Indian Railways can expect a hike between Rs 2500-4,000 once the notification is released.
Tripathi said the hike will not result in any additional financial burden, dubbing the proposal for same as “financially neutral”. He said the Indian Railways has been reducing expenditure through various activities; which will allow room to give hikes to employees without taking on any additional financial burden.
Read More: FD rate hike: ICICI, Axis Bank increase interest rate on FD, check latest rate
The hikes will allow employees facing job stagnation to get salary equivalent to Group A officers. The proposal, once notified, will make 80,000 supervisory-level employees eligible to get higher pay grades.
Union Minister of Railways Ahwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said the provision will address the issue of stagnation of the supervisory cadre in Level-7, and the negligible scope of their promotion.
“There was a long pending demand for upgradation of supervisory cadre since the last 16 years. The only scope of promotion was selection in 3,712 vacancies by giving exam in Group ‘B’. Now provision has been made for 50 per cent people from Level 7 to go to Level 8. “Provision has been made for promotion of 50 per cent people in non functional grade from Level-8 to Level 9 in four years,” he said at a press conference here.
The move is expected to benefit at least 40,000 ‘field level workers’ such as station masters, ticket checkers, traffic inspectors and others, who are currently in the supervisor grade.
Read More: DoT issues new SMS rule for Jio, Airtel and Vodafone, will help prevent SMS fraud
The push in pay grade means that everyone will get Rs 2500 to Rs 4000 salary hike, the minister added.
Vaishnaw further said the move will cost Rs 10,000, but the same has been accounted for in the form of savings from expenditure on diesel.
“As a result of vigorous persuasions of the All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) with the Ministry of Railways as well as DoP&T and MoF(DoE), the proposal of the Railway Board regarding upgradation of pay scales of supervisors from erstwhile GP (grade pay) Rs 4,600 up to Rs 5,400, has been approved by the finance ministry…,” Shiva Gopal Mishra, general secretary, AIRF earlier said.
