Basin Bridge yard employees protest lack of basic facilities

Employees of the Basin Bridge Yard of the Southern Railway gathered here on Wednesday to protest against what they called lack of basic amenities, poor sanitation and inadequate water arrangements in the yard. The protest was organised by Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU).

Speaking to City Express, Paul Maxwell Johnson, divisional secretary, SRMU said that the gathering was called to highlight the plight of the employees. “We made repeated attempts to represent the working conditions at various forums in the railway board but there was no action taken,” he alleged.

The gathering claimed that some sections of the employees were not provided with gum boots and rain coats which are mandatory protection gears. Essential items such as spare parts, soap and dungaree are also scarce. “There is an immense shortage of spare parts and essential items too,” said S Sivaramakrishnan, vice president & propoganda secretary, SRMU.

The union also pointed out that the retirement of employees continued to be a concern as this directly resulted in severe shortage of employees in the yard. The administration of the yard also faced criticism of having employees perform non-core activities like segregation of pet bottles, maintenance of hydrants and garbage collection.

“Administration is forcing employees to perform non-core activities. In such a scenario, there is immense shortage of employees to perform core activities and thereby there is an increase in workload,” said S Sivaramakrishnan.

Basin Bridge yard, which has 3,500 employees, is one of the major coaching depots of Southern Railways. The yard is unique as it has the mechanical, operating, engineering and electrical departments working for the efficient running of mail and express trains.