SECR paying 152 parcel porters without giving any work

Times of India: Nagpur: Wednesday, 12 November 2014.

The Parcel Porters Sanghatana (PPS) has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe South East Central Railway (SECR) for spending Rs2 crore towards wages of 152 porters who are not assigned any work.

Information sought under the RTI Act reveals that SECR paid Rs2 crore to these porters without giving them work between 2012 and 2014. In 2010, the Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT) had twice ordered regularization of services of these porters. Besides, the Supreme Court and high court too have ruled in their favour, saying that they are workmen. Yet, the SECR is not regularizing them.

After SECR lost the court cases, PPS filed a contempt petition, following which SECR agreed to pay the workmen till they are engaged in vacancies. The SECR told the high court that all the porters cannot be absorbed as vacancies are not available. But information under RTI revealed that there are 1,328 vacancies in Group D category, where these workmen are ready to work and can be absorbed, but SECR is delaying their regularization.

SECR's senior publicity inspector at Bilaspur SK Pandey said he was not aware about the issue. Chief public relations officer (CPRO) Rajendra Agrawal did not respond to calls.

Fed up by the delaying tactics of SECR in regularizing them, the porters lodged a complaint with CBI for mismanagement of crores of rupees causing loss to the exchequer.

The commercial department is paying regular salaries to the workmen without giving them any work. The general manager of vigilance department at Bilaspur too washed his hands of the waste of public money, saying the department has no role to play.

The complaint to CBI states that while on one hand the SECR is spending crores on 152 workmen sitting idle, money is being paid to another contractor for loading and unloading work at various stations in the division. Besides, a huge sum is being spent on lawyers and paper work.

Pointing out financial mismanagement, the PPS has said clearing salary bills of parcel porters is routed by commercial department instead of personnel department, which is actually authorized by the Railway Board to handle such matters.

The PPS had earlier filed a complaint with Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central) over violation of section 10 of Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, which prohibits deployment of contractual workers for loading and unloading, which is perennial nature of work. The final hearing is slated for November 19.