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8th CPC: 6 key demands by Railway employees’ body

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In short

The All India Railwaymen's Federation submitted its proposals directly to 8th Pay Commission Chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai, urging the panel to acknowledge the rail workforce as the country's second line of defence. Union leaders pushed to consolidate intermediate pay scales to enhance promotional avenues and advocated for track maintainers to receive parity with other engineering technicians. The submission also detailed specific workplace hardships, with female representatives highlighting the acute difficulties experienced by women serving as loco pilots, assistant loco pilots, and track staff.

Key points

  • Railway staff parity demands are driven by the technical skills required to maintain mode…: Railway staff parity demands are driven by the technical skills required to maintain modernized rolling stock, signaling, and track infrastructure.
  • Merging intermediate pay grades is intended to provide clear promotional pathways and res…: Merging intermediate pay grades is intended to provide clear promotional pathways and resolve long-standing career stagnation for technical employees.
  • Track maintainers are being put forward for equal status with other engineering technicia…: Track maintainers are being put forward for equal status with other engineering technicians because of the severe physical demands of their roles.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Describing Indian Railways as the ‘second line of defence’, the All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF), in a presentation given to the 8th Pay Commission, has sought higher minimum wages, specific allowances and promotional prospects for railway employees.

In a letter sent to affiliated units, AIRF general secretary Shiva Gopal Mishra said that the organisation held a meeting with the 8th Pay Commission on October 30, 2026, in which it also recommended providing hazardous duty allowance, hardship allowance, dress allowance and hill allowance for various categories.

The letter dated October 30 also claimed that the railway employees’ body has also highlighted the problems of female loco pilots, train managers and track maintainers during the meeting with 8th CPC officials, including its chairperson Ranjana Prakash Desai.

In this write-up, we take you through the six key recommendations by he AIRF to the 8th Pay Commission.

1.Higher pay scale to keep pace with fast-paced modernisation of Railways

The letter says that the AIRF told the 8th Pay Commission that the Indian Railways is considered to be the ‘second line of defence’ after the…

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