Railways Group B officers unhappy over raw deal by Pay Commission

New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) The Group 'B' officers of Indian Railways today alleged that they had been given a raw deal by the Sixth Pay Commission and appealed to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to take up their cause with the government to rectify the anomalies in their proposed salary structures.

''The Defence Sevices chiefs have taken up the cause of those in the Forces who are feeling aggrieved because of the recommendations of the Central Pay Commission. We expect that the Railway Minister will take a similar stand,'' Indian Railways Promotee Officers' Federation (IRPOF) said.

It also threatened to launch a nationwide agitation along with other federations of railway staff if its demand went unheeded.

Addressing a press conference, IRPOF President J P Singh and Secretary General Jitendra Singh said Group 'B' officers (Asst.

Scale) were performing the duties at the Assistant/Junior scale level and no distinction had ever been made by the Railway Administration in respect of duties and powers between them and Group 'A' officers (Jr. Time Scale).

''Till date, the grade of Rs 8,000-13,500 at par with Group 'A' officers is available to the extent of 80 per cent of the Group 'B' officers,'' they pointed out.

Mr J P Singh said IRPOF had submitted a detailed memorandum to the Sixth Pay Commission, highlighting its demand to remove the two-fold classification of gazatted cadres in the Railways.

''On the contrary, the Sixth Pay Commission has placed 80 per cent of Group 'B' officers, who have been at par with Group 'A' officers in Junior Time Scale (JTS), have now been put in Pay Band 2 with grade of Rs 8700-34800 + 5400 (GP),'' he said.

Such a recommendation had caused deep frustration among the Group 'B' officers, who would suffer a loss of status in hierarchy as well as pecuniary loss, Mr Singh said, adding that it would defeat the very purpose of the constitution of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

He said a delegation of IRPOF leaders today met Railway Board Chairman K C Jena with a memorandum and would meet him again on April 8 to draw his attention to the ''deep resentment and frustration'' among Group 'B' officers over the recommendations of the Pay Commission.

''We have unanimously resolved that the recommendations relating to Group 'B' officers of the Railways have discriminated them by allotting them Pay Band-2 instead of Pay Band-3,'' he said, adding that it was imperative to maintain the status quo.

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