Many leaves are provided: Railway Board denies light duty request for pregnant loco pilots
New Delhi, Jul 30: The Railway Board has referred to the provisions of several leave facilities for expectant female loco pilots in response to their demand for light duties during pregnancy.
Several female loco pilots had approached the railway trade union to raise this issue after suffering suffering miscarriages due to challenging job roles.
In a written communication sent to all zones on July 25, 2024, the board said, "It is observed that several provisions of leave are already provided in rules for pregnant female employees which can be availed by the expectant female employees."
The matter came up during a discussion between the Railway Board and the trade union All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF) in the Permanent Negotiating Machinery (PNM) meeting held on May 2 and 3.
The federation, on behalf of female loco pilots and assistant loco pilots, had demanded their "deployment on light duty during the advanced stage of pregnancy."
However, the board, in its final decision, turned down this request saying that there are enough leave provisions in railway rules.
"It is imperative that the benefits of these provisions are availed by the beneficiaries," it said.
The board advised Zonal Railways to be considerate while sanctioning leaves on request of pregnant employees and pay heed to the special recommendations of railway medical practitioners, if any.
Dissatisfied with the Railway Board's decision, the female loco pilots said that initially, they had demanded light duty provisions from the first day of pregnancy but later pressed upon shifting to light duties in the advanced stages of pregnancy.
"It is very disappointing to note that the board has refused this too," a woman loco pilot said.
Several female loco pilots complained of suffering miscarriages due to challenging work profiles and had approached the trade union to raise this issue with the Railway Board.
"We are allowed pregnancy leave just 8 weeks before the date of delivery, which means at the stage of around 32 weeks of pregnancy. Advance pregnancy is considered from 26 weeks onward," another female loco pilot said.
She added, "Our working conditions are so tough that each day is difficult to cope for an expectant running staff, the Railway Board is not ready to give any relaxation after even 26 weeks of pregnancy."
A section of women train drivers, who suffered miscarriages while attending duties, have been for some time demanding framing of guidelines to transfer expecting female frontline workers to lighter or stationary jobs in offices, in conformity under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.
They wrote to the Railway Board, saying the said Act prohibits an employer from engaging a pregnant woman in a job of arduous nature as it can interfere with her pregnancy.
A female train driver, who suffered multiple miscarriages due to her harsh working conditions, told PTI that the job of a loco pilot has been described as arduous in the Railways Act and section 4 of the Maternity Benefit Act categorically says that women employees cannot be asked to do jobs of arduous nature.
According to several women train drivers, entering the engine cab itself is a back-breaking task for them as the cab ladder's handle is around six feet high the ground level.
"At railway stations, it is easy to come out and get into the engine cab, but in railway yards or out-of-station areas, it is extremely difficult due to its height from the ground. We have to hold the handle of the cab ladder tight and pull ourselves up, taking all our weight on both hands, to access the first step of the ladder," the loco pilot said while pointing out that this kind of activity is prohibited for pregnant women.
The women drivers shared various other harsh activities which they have to perform as loco pilots or assistant loco pilots (ALPs).
"In the case of alarm chain puling those who work as ALPs have to go to that coach concerned to fix it even during late at night. There have been cases in which women ALPs, while rushing towards the coach, lost their balance and fell on the ground in the dark and injured themselves," another woman loco pilot said.
On January 8, the women's wing of the Indian Railway Loco Runningmen Organisation (IRLRO), a registered union of train drivers, submitted various grievances of women train drivers to the chief labour commissioner (central).
One of their complaints regarding the absence of a provision for light duty during pregnancy said, "Many of the women are facing miscarriages as there is no light duty provision since the job of a loco pilot is notified as arduous in nature under governing rules, amounting to the violation of section 4 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961."
"We are also bereft with the facility of a nursing break during 11 hours of running duty, amounting to a violation of section 11 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961," it added.
Section 11 of the Act says: "Every woman delivered of a child who returns to duty after such delivery shall, in addition to the interval for rest allowed to her, be allowed in the course of her daily work two breaks of the prescribed duration for nursing the child until the child attains the age of 15 months."
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
