In a First, Indian Railways Sends 100 Junior Staff for Foreign Holiday!

January 31, 2018

The 100-strong group comprises Group C and D category employees, with preference given to employees from lower cadres and those nearing retirement.

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Everyone loves a good vacation. After all, what could be better than an overseas trip where you get to see a whole new world and experience different cultures and cuisines!

In a first, Indian Railways is making this wish come true for 100 of its employees through a non-working foreign tour to Singapore and Malaysia!

But what makes the initiative worth commendation is the fact that the tourist group does not comprise senior officers or the ones in prominent positions.

Instead, it largely features those engaged in thankless positions.

Gangmen, trackmen and non-gazetted employees of the Secunderabad-based South Central Railway are part of the first-of-its-kind ‘Employees Overseas Camp’ by Indian Railways, and will be holidaying in Singapore and Malaysia for six days starting January 28!

The first ever tour to foreign locations for Group C&D category Employees on Indian Railways. Source: South Central Railways.

According to M. Umashankar Kumar, SCR chief public relations officer, 75 per cent of the trip expenditure is funded through Staff Benefit Fund (SBF), while the employees are bearing the remaining 25 per cent.

“The 100-strong group comprises Group C and D category employees, with preference given to employees from lower cadres and those nearing retirement. Allocation of slots for each Division, Workshop and Headquarters was given on the basis of their sanctioned strength,” he said in a statement.

He also mentioned that the regional railway zone is taking the lead in providing its non-gazetted workforce with due consideration that they deserve through optimised welfare activities.

It was in December last year when SCR had put across the tour proposal, and within a month, the plan successfully materialised with 100 employees signing up for the trip.

Under the trip itinerary, these folks will be visiting prominent tourist sites like Universal Studios, Sentosa Island and Night Safari in Singapore, while in Malaysia, they will be touring around Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves and Genting Highlands.

The SBF is a welfare provision by Railway Board that aims to financially aid non-gazetted employees working in the national organisation through scholarships for their children and other socially applicable causes.