Railway unions raised concerns about 3,10,000 vacant posts just two days before the Balasore rail accident in a high-level meeting that took place in Delhi among bureaucrats and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw were also present, reported Hindustan Times.
The unions pointed out that the issue of vacancies was across departments including in the safety category. As an austerity measure, the ministry of finance (MoF) had imposed a ban on the creation of new posts, including in the safety category, the railway authorities told the union.
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Rail unions pointed out that the posts in the areas of track maintenance, rack fitness, senior and junior section engineers, gangmen and technicians in the safety category of various departments need to be filled. Meanwhile, railway officials admitted that there is tremendous pressure on overall working and on-ground staff as they have to cover eight to ten km daily to inspect the tracks.
Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad said the railways are not only putting additional stress on existing employees but also are hampering the safety of passengers.