Pakistan Railways employees are planning a wheel-jam strike due to non-payment of their salaries. Even earlier, some employees were on strike and railway operations experienced delays. This financial situation demands early intervention by the government so that the strike can be called off and routine arrivals and departures remain uninterrupted. The employees are expecting their salaries by November 2 and have announced a strike if their September salaries are not cleared by then.
The Railways’ financial crisis seems to go beyond the salaries issue. As it turns out, the department has requested a Rs 35 billion bailout package which it still awaits and this lack of funds is creating multiple problems; one of them being the non-payment of salaries. The country’s dependence on Railways needs no overstatement. Being the preferred inter-city commute for a large segment of the population, the transport of cargo via rails cannot afford a delay or a halt. Businesses and everyday trade depend on the smooth running of cargo as well as passenger trains.
Pakistan Railways has survived an almost bankruptcy just like Pakistan Airlines. Talks of privatisation pick root whenever any such financial crisis surfaces. This time, the threat is as real as it gets. If employees go on a complete shutdown, the department is going to suffer even more financial losses. The ideal way to deal with this scenario is for the government to immediately release the due salaries of all railway employees. In the long run, once this impending crisis is avoided, the government must consider issuing the bailout package that has been requested by the railways department.
If we look at the bigger picture, Pakistan Railways has remained in financial duress time and again. The plague of corruption was a major setback for this department’s performance over the years. It is important for us to remember that there is no alternative to railroads and trains and that they offer us a cheap and time-efficient mode of transport. So, there is no second opinion on the matter that the government must do everything to avert the coming strike and ensure that the issue does not recur.