DMRC begins hiring for Chennai Metro Rail phase-2, draws flak for paltry salary

CHENNAI: Following recent media backlash for bypassing vital TN policies – reservation and Tamil proficiency – the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which will oversee operations and maintenance (O&M) has commenced hiring for phase 2 Chennai Metro line. However, on a meagre salary, below the norms.

With phase II Metro Rail construction accelerated, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in early April had outsourced O&M to DMRC for 12 years – overlooking vital criteria like Tamil Nadu's reservation policy and mandatory Tamil proficiency.

While the recruitment of candidates from within Tamil Nadu has been welcomed, the monthly salary on offer – Rs 26,660 (with claim of no regularisation in the future) – has caused an alarm among candidates and stakeholders.

Citing the measly salary, a government polytechnic college principal said, “I pointed out to DMRC representatives that the pay package is low compared to the market standard and will not cover the cost of living in Chennai. Also, the DMRC has strictly denied regularising employees in the future. Such job uncertainty will have long-term effects on the growth of the industry too.”

Demanding salary for contract staff at par with that of permanent employees, R Elangovan, the former vice-president of Dakshin Railway Employees Union, cited that the ‘labour codes’ under the Ministry of Labour and Employment specify that the service condition, gratuity and pay scale of a contract employee should be at par with regular employees.

Candidates interviewed for the supervisor roles for O&M have been from the government polytechnic colleges in Chennai, Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore. The hiring is for three years.

Another round of walk-in interviews has been scheduled in Chennai between July 2 and 9 by the DMRC, a joint venture of the Government of India and the Delhi government. Candidates between 18 and 33 years of age, with diploma degrees in various streams, have been called for the interview at the CIT campus in Tharamani.

Also, the DMRC has specified that recruitment will be done on the merit-cum-reservation basis, with usual relaxation for reserved category candidates as per the TN government rules and 30% horizontal reservation for women candidates. Also, Tamil proficiency in reading, writing and speaking are also mandatory.

The DMRC began interviewing at the Central Polytechnic College in Chennai in May as per the directives from the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE). Subsequently, DoTE directed 39 polytechnic colleges, including state-run, to hold interviews.

The DMRC has also insisted that candidates should be from government polytechnic colleges to apply for the O&M supervisor position.

Also, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Rules 25 (v) also calls for equal pay to contract staff as permanent staff of the company.

“Diploma holders in Railways are given a salary of Rs 35,400 per month, besides Dearness Allowance (DA). But, in the case of Delhi Metro hiring contract staff for Chennai Metro phase II, there is no mention of DA apart from the salary of Rs Rs 26,660,”said Elangovan.

Elangovan noted that as appointment is done as per fixed-term employment (FTE), it is likely there would not be any increment and the employee will be entitled for the same salary all three years.

Meanwhile, the permanent staff of CMRL with Diploma qualification get a basic pay of Rs 33,000 per month and other allowances. And, if hired through Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), the salary ranges start from Rs 35,400 per month plus other allowances.

But, CMRL by outsourcing O&M has skipped these pay norms of itself and of the state government.

However, CMRL was originally inspired to fully outsource O&M from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), a joint venture company of GoI and states like Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which outsourced O&M to Deutsche Bahn International Operations (DB IO) to operate Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in 2022.

Hence, questions arise among stakeholders if TN is following Uttar Pradesh’s model?

A transit enthusiast unwilling to be named said, “Most state government hiring is done by TNPSC. It is high time for CMRL to be included to follow norms set by the government. Why is CMRL alone defying this practice? Though, CMRL might claim it is a policy decision, aren't the policies the same for all departments, or if the policies change according to the departments?.”

Meanwhile, Elangovan also stressed that candidates are hired in the role of supervisor to rob them of their trade union rights as the role ‘supervisor’ is excluded from the Trade Unions Act and Industrial Disputes Act.

“CMRL/DMRC is resisting employees' forming union, however, as per the Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution, the right to form union is fundamental,”he stressed.

On the other hand, educationalists argue that the salary besides being inadequate also deprives youth of better socio economic indicators.

Ravikumar, a polytechnic college lecturer pointed out that Diploma students look for job certainty in an organised sector. But, are mostly met with disappointing offers, even from reputed institutions and this needs to be called out.

He said, “Most students in government polytechnic colleges belong to communities like Scheduled Castes (SCs), Most Backward Classes (MBCs) and Backward Classes (BCs), anticipating to secure a better job with decent salary. But, at most times, they are met with compromised jobs due to the exploitative nature of recruiters. If Metro Rail was offering jobs for this salary to engineering students, it sure would have caught wide attention."

Additionally, landing in a good job impacts generations and not just the candidate. A better job and salary will have impacts on better lifestyle, education, health, housing with overall improvement of life, various stakeholders noted.