Railway running staff to go on strike from 28 Jan demanding mileage benefits

Running staff of the Bangladesh Railway have decided to go on strike from 28 January demanding pension and gratuity with their mileage allowance.

Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers' Union General Secretary Md Mojibur Rahman announced this decision after a meeting with the Railway director general in the capital's Rail Bhaban today (30 December).

"We have repeatedly written to the railway authorities to fulfill our demands. Even after so much time has passed, they are not addressing our demands. They are repeatedly asking for more time. We have set a deadline of 27 January after today's meeting. If they do not accept our demands within this period, the strike will start from the morning of 28 January," Mojibur said.

Railway running staff include locomasters, assistant locomasters and sub-locomasters.

The running staff often complained that although they have an eight-hour working day, they have to work an average of 15-18 hours.

They used to get a special overtime allowance, known as the mileage allowance, in addition to their basic salary. This system offers 75% more than their pension based on the basic salary. But the Finance Ministry scrapped the mileage facility in a notification in November 2021, creating discontent among railway running staff.

In January 2022, following protests, the Finance Ministry reinstated salaries and allowances but excluded mileage benefits from pensions. The then minister yielded to demands in April 2023 and promised the issuance of a new notification. But the November 2021 notification is not scrapped yet, causing pension issues.