KARACHI:
The Railway Workers’ Union will organise countrywide protests against the privatisation of Pakistan Railways.
These will be conducted to support the International Transport Workers’ Federation, which began its ‘Action Week’ against the de-regularisations in railways from October 7. The federation, which is the representative union of railway workers in 156 countries worldwide, along with other railway unions, will present their stance on the matter and provide solutions to the problems of railway workers.
“Corruption, administrative failure, lack of government interest, political influence and privatisation have led to the downfall of Pakistan Railways,” said the union’s general secretary, Rao Muhammad Naseem, at a press conference on Sunday. He added that they wanted to show solidarity with global unions and find a platform where the problems of railway workers can be discussed and resolved.
Naseem said that over the past 50 years, the number of commuters has decreased by 46 per cent and freight by 70 per cent. The number of locomotives has gone down by 39 per cent. “Even with all these reductions, our expenses have increased by 169 per cent.”
In 2001, the Pakistan Railways had 133,000 employees, but a lot of them were laid off and only 80,000 remain. “The officers’ expenses have been raised from 8 per cent to 16 per cent and the railway is spending Rs4 billion annually on its management officers alone.” Around 5,000 technical employees work in officers’ houses.
The union demanded the cancellation of agreements with the private-run train services such as Shalimar Express and Pak Business Express. It also demanded that the federal government take responsibility of the railway employees’ pensions. All unnecessary projects should be eliminated and the expenses of the management should be brought back to 8 per cent again. The shortage of paramedical staff in railway hospitals should be resolved and dispensaries reopened.
The Railway Workers Union’s chairperson, Manzoor Ahmed Razi, said that the Army-run National Logistic Cell (NLC), public-private partnerships and the government’s lack of interest were the main causes of the railways’ downfall. “We used to carry 65 per cent of the country’s freight, now we carry only 15 per cent and the rest is with the NLC. Our locomotives are idle and in bad condition, yet the government has just released the funds which were announced in 2010,” said Razi.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 8th, 2012.
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