Flexible work hours for CR employees from next month

Mumbai: Beginning next month, the Central Railway (CR) will implement flexible working hours for its staff in the Mumbai division. This makes CR the first central government organisation to start such an initiative. Close to 4,000 employees working in this division will benefit from an option to choose their working hours from November 1.

The idea to stagger the hours was first discussed in 2015-16, when a spate of accidents occurred on Mumbai’s locals due to overcrowding. There was also a steep rise in the number of commuter deaths from falling off moving trains. To curb this, the government had urged private companies to adopt this mode of working to ease crowding in local trains and congestion at stations.

According to sources in CR, an internal circular to introduce flexible work hours has been sent to the employees. “This will benefit employees to avoid peak hours for travelling by trains from their residences to CSMT,” reads the circular, a copy of which is with HT.

Authorities have offered two slots -- 9.30am to 5.45pm and 11.30am to 7.45pm – for the employees to choose from. “They will have the flexibility to select one of the above rosters. Any changes will have to be done at the beginning of a new month; requests for mid-month changes will not be acceptable. This has been designed for smooth working operations and ease of travel,” said a CR official.

The move comes at an opportune time, sources said, as the ongoing mega block on Western Railway (WR) will give the CR administration the chance to test the initiative. This is for those employees who work in the Mumbai division, but reside, and therefore travel, on the western line.

With the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the footfall in local trains is gradually climbing upwards. Now, close to 60 lakh people travel on both central and western lines locally, every day.

In January 2022, the Maharashtra government had started working in two shifts to reduce footfall in Mantralaya, as part of its efforts to curb the spread of Covid. The hours were staggered from 9 to 3 pm and 1pm to 7pm.

“This is a very good step by the railways. They can also plan different fare structures for peak and off-peak travel in local trains, keeping peak hour tickets at a premium. This will automatically force private companies to adopt flexible office hours,” said Siddesh Desai, an HR professional and member of Mumbai Rail Pravasi Sangh.