“As per DOPT OM (Office Memorandum), even if the basic pay of an employee is more than Rs.43,600, his Night Duty Allowance (NDA) will be calculated assuming his basic pay is Rs.43,600 which is It is unfair and without any justification,” said North. Eastern Railway Men’s Congress Assistant General Secretary Vivek Mishra.
However, the Railway Board issued an instruction on 29 September 2020 and said that the NDA will be given to employees, who are only on pay up to level 7. This eliminated the upper salaried employees of 8 and 9 from getting any benefit of NDA. “Ministry of Railways has also not given any justification for imposing such ban. It is disappointing and discouraging. As the government has announced the formation of the 8th Pay Commission, I humbly along with the DOPT I request the Ministry of Railways to consider this aspect separately as the work of Railways is not like that of other government departments,” said Mishra.
According to the unions, “Before 2020, all government employees were getting the above allowance for working from 10 pm to 6 am irrespective of their grade pay or any limit. But after the 7th Pay Commission report and “Many employees of the safety department are now deprived of NDA when the DOPT issued an office memorandum to fix the maximum limit,” he says. That the station master, train controller and other senior supervisors work equally. The difficulty, however, is that this cap and pay level restriction has divided them into two categories – NDA and non-NDA.
“So a station master works 8 hours from 10 pm to 6 am and gets NDA benefits because he falls in pay level 7. On the other hand, another station master who is in level 8 or level 9. but gets promoted, he does not get the benefit even if he is more than one level 7. Is it not unfair and discriminatory of the All India Station Masters Association General Secretary Sameer Aima asked.
Sushil Shali, former Chief Controller, Delhi Rail Division, also raised a similar issue with controllers.
“July 13, 2020 OM does not have any argument by which it can justify the ceiling. Nor the directive of the Ministry of Railways which imposes another restriction of pay level 7. Train controllers are also required to be station masters like station masters. There are problems and I’m sure it affects performance, motivation levels, etc.,” he said.
“While senior officers sleep at home, these safety cadre employees work tirelessly to help people reach their respective destinations safely. All India Train Controllers Association (AITCA) ex Assistant General Secretary Manoj Sinha said that the government should consider the functioning of railways as different from its other departments and treat it accordingly.