Railway ticket examiners are planning to approach the Human Rights Commission demanding better restroom facilities in major railway stations across the country.
The Indian Railways Ticket Checking Staff Organisation (IRTCSO) has been raising a hue and cry over the poor condition of restrooms. After eight to 10 hours of duty, especially night duty, ticket examiners take rest in the restrooms assigned to them in major stations.
IRTCSO national vice-president N.S. Radhakrishnan Nair said that most restrooms were in poor condition with old and unclean toilets. He said that the restrooms of ticket examiners were not upgraded when the restrooms of the guards and loco-pilots were modernised.
According to Mr. Nair, denial of proper restroom facilities, including toilets, is tantamount to violation of human rights. The IRTCSO is planning to approach the Human Rights Commission demanding standardisation of the restroom facilities.
“It is a clear discrimination when guards and drivers enjoy air-conditioned restrooms with catering facilities, ticket examiners wearing black coats are forced to rest in old, rickety buildings,” said Mr. Nair.
The IRTCSO pointed out that nothing was done in spite of the Railway Board recommending better facilities for ticket examiners in 2010.
Over 40,000
More than 40,000 ticket examiners are working all over the country. With an average of 400 staff in each of the six divisions (Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Salem, Madurai and Thiruchirappalli), the Southern Railway has nearly 3,000 ticket examiners.
The national executive meeting of the IRTCSO held in Kachiguda, Hyderabad, recently decided to seek legal help to restore the night-duty allowance of ticket inspectors. The night-duty allowance was suspended during the COVID-19 crisis.
IRTCSO working president A.L. Victor Rao presided over the meeting. General secretary Hemanth Sony and secretaries S.M.S. Mujeeb Rahman, J. Jijith and Veena Bellary spoke.
The IRTCSO demanded filling the vacancies of ticket examiners and increasing the number of posts in tune with the increase in trains and coaches.
