8th Pay Commission Among Top Issues Shaping Railway Trade Union Elections Starting Wednesday

The constitution of 8th Pay Commission is one of the main issues shaping the keenly contested Railway trade union elections. The two main employee bodies in the fray—the All Indian Railwaymen's Federation and the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen—have promised to consistently raise the demand for the pay panel's formation with the government.

The polls, which will determine the recognition of trade unions in the 16 zones of Indian Railways, will be held over three days on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week. The voting will be held through secret ballot, and the results are scheduled to be declared on Dec. 12.

While there are 12 lakh permanent Railway employees, the inclusion of voters in the final list differed from zone to zone, as it depended on various criterias. As per the notification for the polls issued on Sept. 10, Group C and D category staff are eligible to vote, along with "substitutes with temporary status". Those ineligible to vote include gazetted employees, contractual labour and academic staff, among others.

"The main issues shaping up this election are the formation of 8th Central Pay Commission, the revision of minimum wages of Railway employees, restoring old pension scheme, filling up of Group C and D posts, and stopping privatisation for the safety of Railway employees, as well as passengers," NFIR President M Raghavaiah told NDTV Profit.

"NFIR has a track record of raising these issues vociferously. We have stood with the employees since decades, and we expect to win recognition in all the Railway zones," he added.

NFIR-affiliated employee bodies are vying for recognition in all the 16 zones of Indian Railways. The federation is seen ideologically aligned to the Indian National Congress—the country's main opposition party—whereas its rival AIRF is Left-aligned.

AIRF General Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra has also raised the demand for 8th Pay Commission's formation during the campaign trail. While campaigning for the Northern Railway Men's Union—the AIRF-affiliated body which aims to retain recognition in the Northern Railways—Mishra said, "We are consistently raising the demand for 8th Pay Commission. The panel should be formed, and the 12 lakh employees of Railways will get their salary revision."

Speaking to NDTV Profit last month, Mishra had claimed that he has raised the demand for 8th Pay Commission multiple times with the government. "Most recently, we had met with the (Union) finance secretary in the first week of November and renewed our demand," he had said, while adding that he expects a fitment factor of "not less than 2.86" to be recommended when the panel gets formed.

The formation of 8th Pay Commission is seen as the first concrete step towards the revision of salaries of central government employees, and the pensions of retirees. The panel, after being formed, holds deliberation with all stakeholders before submitting its report to the government.

However, there is no official word yet from the government on when the 8th Pay Commission would be constituted.

Both, the AIRF and NFIR, have sought the revision of minimum wages for Railway employees, even before the 8th Pay Commission gets formed. Considering the inflation, and the cost of living expenses, the minimum pay should be revised at the earliest, Raghavaiah said.

Historically, the staff bodies representing Railway employees were seen as affiliated either to the Left-aligned AIRF or the centrist NFIR. However, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Bharatiya Railway Mazdoor Sangh began making inroads since early 2000s.

The first election for the recognition of Railway trade unions were held in 2007. The AIRF dominated the polls, winning recognition in all 16 zones, whereas the NFIR won recognition in nine zones.

Notably, the federation receiving a minimum of 35% of the total votes is granted recognition in that Railway zone. This means that there can be up to two recognised staff bodies in a particular zone.

This was followed by the second Railway trade union polls in 2013, where NFIR improved its tally. Although AIRF retained recognition in all 16 zones, the NFIR gained recognition in 12 zones, as compared to nine in the 2007 elections. The BRMS-affiliated unions drew a blank in both the elections.

The polls to be held between Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 are the first Railway trade union elections in the last 11 years. This is also the first election to be held after the Bharatiya Janata Party, the RSS-linked political entity, emerged as the most dominant force in Indian politics. This has raised speculations where the BRMS will emerge as the dark-horse in this election.

Raghavaiah, while agreeing that BJP and RSS have gained political success over the past decade, said the Railway trade union election is still primarily a contest between the traditional players.

"The main electoral contest is between the NFIR and AIRF. The Railway trade union polls are not linked to party politics. The BRMS has fielded several candidates, but they won't find success," he claimed.