No:IRTSA/Memo/PCO All/ 4-11 Date: 7-3.2011
1. Chairman, Railway Board, Rail Bhavan, New Delhi
2. Member Staff, Railway Board, Rail Bhavan, New Delhi.
3. Member Mechanical, Railway Board, Rail Bhavan, New Delhi
Respected Sir,
Sub: Grant of PCO Allowance to JEs, SSEs & Staff of Production Control Organisation (PCO) - in Southern Railway Workshops & ICF - at par with Ex-cadre Supervisors of PCO.
Ref: 1. Railway Board’s letter No. E (NG) I- PMI – 242 (DC)/JCM) dated 13-2-84
2. Railway Board’s letters No. E(P&A)I-2008/SP-1/WS-4 Dated 06.02.2009 & 23.4.2009.
We seek your kind intervention in respect of discriminations created by not-granting PCO Allowance to SSEs (Senior Section Engineers), JEs (Junior Engineers) and Artisan Staff working in PCO (Production Control Organisation) in the Southern Railway Workshops & ICF(Integral Coach Factory) Chennai - at par with Ex-cadre Technical Supervisors (SSEs & JEs) & Artisan Staff of PCO.
1. PCO wing in the workshops plays a vital and pivotal role by performing following major functions:
i) Accepting Work Orders, Planning, estimation, work measurement & schedule of work
ii) Ensuring continuity of operations in the shops - through monitoring and timely supply of requisite raw material, semi finished & finished product to the Shops.
iii) Quality Control, customer compliant production etc
2. In Southern Railway workshops and ICF, a PCO wing exists both as cadre (constitutes permanent cadre) and ex-cadre (filled by tenure basis).
3. A small group of JEs, SSEs and Staff of PCO Cadre are working in ICF and Southern Railway Workshops (including those in Golden Rock Workshop - Tiruchy, Carriage & Wagon Workshop -Perambur, Loco Workshop - Perambur, Engineering Workshops – Arakunam (AJJ) and S&T Workshop - Podanur).
4. The entire Staff of PCO – including all JEs, SSEs and the Artisan Staff working in the PCO in all the Workshops and Production Units all over Indian Railways are getting PCO Allowance (@ 15% to JEs and Artisan Staff and @ 7.5% to the SSEs) in terms of Railway Board’s orders cited above as per clarifications issued by the Board from time to time.
5. It is regretted that the the PCO Cadre Staff of Southern Railway and ICF (mentioned in Para 4 above) are not being Paid the PCO Allowance and they are being denied the benefit of PCO Allowance granted to the Ex-cadre JEs (at the rate of 15%) & SSEs (at the rate of 7.5%) working in the same wings of the PCO in the respective Workshops & ICF - even though both (PCO Cadre & Ex Cadre Staff & Supervisors) are doing the same work and performing the same duties and responsibilities (as had been accepted by Southern Railway and ICF administrations – in response to a query by the General Secretary IRTSA).
6. This is a violation of law of natural justice of “equal pay for equal work” and Article 39 of the Constitution of India – as repeatedly upheld by the various High Courts and Supreme Court. But it is not being followed in the case of JEs, SSEs and Artisan Staff belonging to the PCO Cadre of the said Workshops of Southern Railway and ICF.
7. This discrimination is completely unjustified, illegal and unconstitutional. No one can be deprived of his legitimate right to a particular Allowance or emoluments merely because they have opted for a particular cadre – when others doing the same work at the same place under the same administration are getting the said Allowance.
8. Such an option (for PCO Cadre) cannot be considered as a Contract; and even if it is considered as a Contract – no Contract can be violative of the basic tenets of Law nor can it deprive the said optees of their legitimate rights of equal wages at par with others doing the same work under the same administration at the same place and same premises.
9. It is, therefore, requested that the JEs, SSEs and Artisan Staff of PCO Cadre - working in PCO in Southern Railway Workshops & ICF - be granted the PCO Allowance - at par with the Ex-Cadre Staff working in the PCO in the same Workshops and ICF.
Yours faithfully,
-sd-
Harchandan Singh,
General Secretary, IRTSA
http://www.irtsa.net/pdfdocs/Grant_of_PCO_Allowance_to_PCO_Cadre.pdf