Manpower shortage cripples Saidpur railway workshop

Saidpur railway workshop, the biggest railway workshop of the country, located in Syedpur (Saidpur) upazila town of Nilphamari district, is suffering from an acute shortage of manpower.

With more and more skilled labourers retiring, both the employees and labourers of the institution are worried about its future. They warned that if recruitment is not begun soon, this old railway factory would become inoperative.

Sources said the factory was set up on 110 acres of land in 1817. At present, this railway factory has less than half the requisite manpower. They added that some 3,171 personnel are required in the mechanical and electrical departments of this factory, but at present, a total of 1,262 employees work in these two departments, which is 37 per cent of the required manpower. As a result, most of the heavy machines cannot be operated.

There are 29 working shops inside this factory, in which production activities are carried out by bringing in labourers from one workshop or another. This workshop has the capacity to repair at least 570 metre gauge (MG) and broad gauge (BG) passenger compartments and at least 430 wagons a year, but this capability is declining day by day.

On the other hand, on-duty labourers and employees have to work with machines that are more than 150 years old. Yet, some 60 coaches are repaired on the 112 acres of fallow land inside the factory.

The sources disclosed that, thanks to the increasing demand in the country during the last three years, around 220 goods-carrying MG wagons and some 120 passenger-carrying BG coaches were purchased from India and 100 MG and 50 BG coaches from Indonesia. Yet another 400 MG coaches and 50 BG coaches are scheduled to be purchased from abroad.

Johiruddin Ahmed, a worker in the carriage and wagon shop, told The Independent that it is very difficult to continue production with such poor personnel strength. Md Abdur Razzak, president of the factory’s labour union, warned that if the manpower decreases in this manner, production may come to a halt here. He added, “Though production has not come down till now, the standard and quality of work are declining.”

The assistant general secretary the central Rail Sramik League and chairman of Syedpur upazila parishad, Md Mokhledul Momin, said: “We are very scared about the manpower shortage in the railway workshop. When skilled labourers retire, their places are not being filled up. It takes time to become a skilled labourer. If recruitment is not started very soon, the crisis of skilled workers would take a serious turn.”

The divisional supervisor of the factory, Md Kutrot-I-Khuda, said: “Recruitment has been suspended following a directive of the court.” He added, “Efforts are on to recruit some workers by getting the court’s verdict vacated.”

Manpower shortage cripples Saidpur railway workshop

Saidpur railway workshop, the biggest railway workshop of the country, located in Syedpur (Saidpur) upazila town of Nilphamari district, is suffering from an acute shortage of manpower. With more and more skilled labourers retiring, both the employees and labourers of the institution are worried about its future. They warned that if recruitment is not begun soon, this old railway factory would become inoperative. Sources said the factory was set up on 110 acres of land in 1817. At present, this railway factory has less than half the requisite manpower. They added that some 3,171 personnel are required in the mechanical and electrical departments of this factory, but at present, a total of 1,262 employees work in these two departments, which is 37 per cent of the required manpower. As a result, most of the heavy machines cannot be operated. There are 29 working shops inside this factory, in which production activities are carried out by bringing in labourers from one workshop or another. This workshop has the capacity to repair at least 570 metre gauge (MG) and broad gauge (BG) passenger compartments and at least 430 wagons a year, but this capability is declining day by day. On the other hand, on-duty labourers and employees have to work with machines that are more than 150 years old. Yet, some 60 coaches are repaired on the 112 acres of fallow land inside the factory. The sources disclosed that, thanks to the increasing demand in the country during the last three years, around 220 goods-carrying MG wagons and some 120 passenger-carrying BG coaches were purchased from India and 100 MG and 50 BG coaches from Indonesia. Yet another 400 MG coaches and 50 BG coaches are scheduled to be purchased from abroad. Johiruddin Ahmed, a worker in the carriage and wagon shop, told The Independent that it is very difficult to continue production with such poor personnel strength. Md Abdur Razzak, president of the factorys labour union, warned that if the manpower decreases in this manner, production may come to a halt here. He added, Though production has not come down till now, the standard and quality of work are declining. The assistant general secretary the central Rail Sramik League and chairman of Syedpur upazila parishad, Md Mokhledul Momin, said: We are very scared about the manpower shortage in the railway workshop. When skilled labourers retire, their places are not being filled up. It takes time to become a skilled labourer. If recruitment is not started very soon, the crisis of skilled workers would take a serious turn. The divisional supervisor of the factory, Md Kutrot-I-Khuda, said: Recruitment has been suspended following a directive of the court. He added, Efforts are on to recruit some workers by getting the courts verdict vacated.