The Railway Station Masters’ Association states that they have requested the President to take measures to restructure the Department of Railways instead of converting it into an authority.
Secretary of the association Kasun Chamara emphasized that if the Railway Department is converted into an authority, multiple crises stand to emerge within the sector.
“We, as the Railway Station Master’s Association, have expressed our views during all these discussions. We have always stated that it is better to restructure the Railway Department, rather than converting it into an authority.”
“We heard that the ministry’s secretary has stated that no funds would be allocated from the treasury for the [railway] employees. Thus, salaries will be paid based on the profit earned by the railways [department]”, he added.
Furthermore, he noted that there are around 19,382 employees in the railway department, mentioning that accordingly, all the relevant maintenance costs will have to be borne by the department’s profit only.
“Railway [department] has already become a loss-making institute”, he added.
