The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation staffers have threatened to go on strike on July 23 as they press for raise in their pay grades. However, as their long-standing demand has not been met by the corporation they have stated that the responsibility of any disruptions in the Delhi metro services will only be on the management.
Staff Council Secretary Anil Kumar Mahato who represents nearly 3,000 permanent non-executive (operations) staff, including train operators, lines staff and station staff said: “Any disruption in services would be the sole responsibility of the management.”
Significantly, this is not the first time that the workers are going on a strike demanding a salary hike. A protest was held from April to June last year too. The DMRC had then issued show-cause notices to 15 staff members, including Mahato, and had cancelled their annual increments for doing the protests.
The staffers demand that the lowest grade be brought up to Rs 14,000 and the highest grade brought up to Rs 20,600. They have also been seeking the abolition of the Delhi domicile clause, which makes it mandatory for them to claim medical reimbursements for parents, as they said that the parents of around 90 per cent of the staffers do not live in Delhi.
