Female loco pilots under the Salem rail division who availed maternity or childcare leave were graded as "below average" in their annual performance appraisal report for 2024-25, and this will block their promotion opportunity for three years, a pilots' union has alleged.
In a letter addressed to the general manager of Southern Railway and the divisional railway manager of Salem, the union said that though the reporting officer graded these women good or average, the reviewing officer downgraded them.
"The reviewing officer, the divisional electrical engineer (goods) or senior divisional electrical engineer (operations), without recording disagreement to the finding of the reporting authority, simply downgraded the employee as 'below average'," A Srinivas Bhatt, president of All India Loco Running Staff Association, Salem division, alleged.
"This has blocked their promotion opportunity for another three years, as three years APAR (annual performance appraisal report) grading is to be assessed before considering for promotion," Bhatt said.
Union office bearers claimed the administrative excesses and persistent harassment faced by loco running staff of Salem division are undermining their morale, career progression, and operational safety.
"This practice is against the laid down procedure for appraisal," the letter alleged.
"In many of such cases, the maternity/child care leave ranging from 240 days to 365 days are being assessed as below average in their annual performance," it said.
Drawing attention towards the issue, the union has presented about a dozen of such cases in which APAR has been downgraded.
The union said that assistant loco pilot, Mintu Jayapal, was graded below average for the assessment year 2024-25 as she was on maternity leave for 179 days, child care leave for 56 days and sick leave for 129 days.
"She was on leave for 364 days in the assessment year of 2024-25. In her previous year APAR, she was graded as 'average' and before that graded as good'," the letter said.
It added that an appeal has been submitted to the additional divisional railway manager.
In case of another assistant loco pilot Anju Joy, the union alleged that she was graded as 'below average' for the assessment year 2024-25 for being on maternity leave for 180 days and childcare leave for 59 days, totalling 239 days.
The union has also alleged several other unfair practices such as administrative action against loco pilots on flimsy ground, unsafe working conditions for female loco pilots and denial of leaves among for genuine reasons among other things.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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