Union Pleads for 'Risk and Hardship Allowance' for Railway S&T Maintainers

The Indian Railway S&T Maintainers' Union has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the Ministry of Finance to approve 'risk and hardship allowance' for signal and telecom maintenance workers. A committee has already submitted a favorable report, but the Finance Ministry has yet to take action.

The Indian Railway S&T Maintainers' Union has called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the Ministry of Finance to approve a long-pending proposal for a 'risk and hardship allowance' for signal and telecom maintenance workers.

Over 60,000 signal and telecom (S&T) maintainers are employed in the Indian Railway system, responsible for ensuring the safe operation of train signaling systems.

The Union highlighted in a letter dated September 12, 2024, that despite a favorable report from a committee formed by the Ministry of Railways, the Finance Ministry has not yet taken any action on the proposal. The Union first raised this demand in 2016 after one of its workers was murdered in an incident at Kota, Rajasthan.

(With inputs from agencies.)