Revision of rates of Daily Allowance (T.A.) to Railway employees on tour – Reimbursement of Hotel charges when no rest house facility made available

NFIR

No. I/5 (F)

Dated: 20/08/2018

The Secretary (E),
Railway Board.
New Delhi

Dear Sir,

Sub: Revision of rates of Daily Allowance (T.A.) to Railway employees on tour – Reimbursement of Hotel charges when no rest house facility made available-reg.

Ref: (i) Railway Board’s letter No. F(E)1/2017/AL-28/40 dated 08/08/2017(PC-VII-31 & RBE No. 84/2017).
(ii) Railway Board’s letter No. F(E)I/2017/AL-28/41 dated 24/08/2017(PC-VII-45 & RBE No. 103/2017).
(iii) NFIR’s letter No.1/5 (F) dated 22/06/2018.
(iv) Railway Board’s letter No.F(E)l/2017/AL-28/40 dated 31/07/2018.

While appreciating the prompt reply of the Railway Board not agreeing with the proposal made by the Federation through its letter dated 22/6/2018, NFIR reiterates again the following facts:

• There are many places where there is no rest house at all,
• Wherever there are rest houses for subordinate staff, their accommodation is totally inadequate and the employees do not get even Cot/Bed,
• The condition of rest houses is very bad so much so, the bed sheets, pillow covers etc., are not even washed regularly (i.e. the condition is unhygienic),
• Mattresses in the rest houses are very dirty and not fit for use.

The Railway Board’s contention for denying the legitimate entitlement, citing 7th CPC recommendation and Government of India’s approval thereon is not only illogical but also highly improper. It needs to be appreciated that when employee is ordered to undertake tour on duty, he is rightly entitled for facilities as well Daily Allowance / Travelling Allowance. The case cited by NFIR is that in those cases where the staff proceed on duty to other places where the rest house facility is not available or condition of rest house is so bad that no human being can live, in such situations the reimbursement of hotel charges has to be ensured by the employer. Therefore the simple reply in one paragraph given by the Railway Board not agreeing the legitimate demand of NFIR is unacceptable to the Federation and we surmise that the Railway Board never wanted to take the ground situation into consideration for extending legitimate benefit to the staff. It is also unfortunate that while the Central Government has allowed reimbursement charges towards hotel accommodation to its employees when they undertake tour on duty, the Railway Board is unwilling to adopt Government of India’s rules probably with an intention to deny the legitimate benefit%to railwaymen deliberately.

Federation therefore urges upon the Railway Board to review the matter with judicious intention and issue instructions to the GMs etc., for ensuring reimbursement of accommodation/rest house/hotel charges in those cases where the resting facilities or either inadequate or not provided or not available.

Yours Faithfully

(Dr. M. Raghavaiah)
General Secretary

Source: NFIR