Nearly 3 lakh vacant positions in Indian Railways: Report
By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 2, 2023, 1:02 PM ISTThe 3,11,438 open Group C positions include positions for Level 1 staff such as track persons, pointsmen, electrical workers, and signal and telecom assistants.
More than 3.11 lakh posts out of 14,75,623 Group C posts and 3,018 out of the sanctioned 18,881 gazetted cadre positions are vacant in various departments, revealed the Indian Railways in response to a recent RTI request. Following the date provided in response to the TOI correspondent's query, most of the 39 railway zones and production units need more human resources.
The 3,11,438 open Group C positions include positions for Level 1 staff such as track persons, pointsmen, electrical workers, and signal and telecom assistants. "Most of the vacant Group C posts include engineers, technicians, clerks, guards/train managers, station masters, ticket collectors etc. As per the report, this has a direct impact on daily railway operations," said the leader of the North Central Railway Employees Sangh (NCRES).
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"When the permanent negotiator machinery (PNM) meets with officials at the divisional, zonal, and railway HQ levels, the subject of vacant positions continues. Administrative officers are aware of the issues caused by a workforce shortage. However, the government is not interested in hiring permanent employees. They are eager to privatise the railways," he continued.
Following the data, five of the nine top-level positions in the ministry of railways were vacant as of September 15, 2022. Furthermore, 23 of the 59 higher administrative groups + posts, 44 of the 377 higher administrative group posts, and 77 of the 1,700 senior administrative-level posts were vacant. There were 289 vacancies in the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), 100 in the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), 260 in the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), 154 in the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE), 324 in the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), 43 in the Indian Railway Store Service (IRSS), 215 in the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), 476 in the Indian Railway Health Service (IRHS), 145 Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS), 321 Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) positions, 113 general categories, and 578 miscellaneous positions. The junior scale had the most vacancies (1,274 out of 2,785 sanctioned posts), followed by Group B (926 out of 5,698 posts).
According to the report, the source said that the high number of vacant posts, especially in group C, had been a major concern affecting the overall operations of the Indian Railways. He continued, "The government is expanding the railway network, and high-speed rail operations are becoming increasingly important. To improve operational safety and public convenience, vacant positions must be filled sooner."
Last November, the Central Railways' National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) peacefully protested at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus against 28,705 vacant railway positions.
In response to the question in Rajya Sabha, rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw admitted to the glut of vacancies for all posts and said that instructions had been issued to the zonal railway divisions to fill the posts, particularly in the safety and technical categories.
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