RPF group 'A' officers hail 7th Pay Commission recommendations

Mumbai, Nov 21: Hailing the recommendations made by the Seventh Pay Commission, the Group 'A' officers of Railway Protection Force have said that when it is implemented, they would have a "synergised integration" with railway operations, resulting in a win-win situation for all.

In its report presented to the government on Thursday, the Seventh Pay Commission fulfilled the demand of Group 'A' officers of the Railway Protection Force to bring parity with other Group 'A' services in the Ministry of Railways. The report stated, "We are of the opinion that it would be erroneous to bracket RPF officers with officers of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

Hence, we recommend that RPF officers should be treated as railway officers for all purposes, under the full control of Railway Board."

Hailing the decision, a senior RPF officer from Central Railway said, "As of now, we were treated as outsiders in the railway system, but when this will get implemented, the entire railways would have a synergised integration and experience of an RPF officer would be utilised better in the smooth operation of the railways." The officer said when the new pay commission is implemented, the pay, promotion and transfer policies of railway officers would be similarly applicable to RPF officers.

"In the railways, officers normally do not get transfer for initial 15 years, while RPF officers get transferred almost 8-10 times in the same job period. Now, the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations would iron out the transfer anomalies too," said the officer.

In the RPF, Group 'A' officers are recruited along with other three Group 'A' services - Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) and Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) - through the Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.

These officers have since long been demanding to absorb them in the main cadre of the railways. Another senior RPF officer in Western Railway also welcomed the decision saying, "Since long we were being deprived of our basic rights and facing embarrassment, not only at official level, but our family life was also affected. And now, we officers are feeling that finally justice has been done to us."

PTI