DYFI slams Railways for hiring retired loco pilots over youth

Thiruvananthapuram: The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has criticised the Indian Railways’ decision to reappoint retired loco pilots on daily wages, calling it anti -youth. The organisation said that delaying the recruitment of assistant loco pilots indefinitely, while bringing back retired employees on a temporary basis, is a direct challenge to the country’s qualified young workforce. DYFI added that it strongly opposes the move.

Out of 1,45,230 loco running posts across the 16 railway zones, 33,174 remain vacant. In the Southern Railway zone, which covers Kerala, 5,848 loco posts are sanctioned but only 4,560 are currently filled. The Thiruvananthapuram division has 134 vacancies and Palakkad has 149.

The Railways last invited applications for assistant loco pilot posts in 2018, and then again only in 2024, when 28,769 vacancies were announced. However, instead of appointing candidates to these positions, the Railways has decided to hire retired employees on daily wages.

The DYFI state secretariat demanded the immediate withdrawal of this decision and warned that protests against the recruitment freeze would be further intensified.