New Delhi: With the government giving in-principle approval to the one rank-one pension scheme for defence personnel, Railway employees are now asking for similar pension benefit, arguing that their duties too are "hazardous, risky and complex".
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen has demanded uniform pension policy for railway employees.
"On an average, 800 railway employees get killed per year in the course of duty and nearly 3,000 sustain injuries at work," M Raghavaiah, general secretary of NFIR, said.
Railways, one of the largest employer in the country, has about 13 lakh employees.
He said over 85 per cent of railway employees work in remote locations and extremist-affected areas.
Raghavaiah appealed to scrap the New Pension Scheme in railways and grant OROP to employees "as has been agreed to in the case of retired defence personnel".
