Railway engineers have made a major demand alongside the salary revision under the 8th Pay Commission..
8th Pay Commission (Railways): Central government employees have presented their demands to the 8th Pay Commission. During a crucial meeting held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, railway engineers raised several long-standing and significant grievances regarding pay anomalies, promotions, and career growth.
Representatives from the 'All India Railway Engineers Federation' (AIREF) and the 'East Coast Railway Engineers Association' (ECoREA) submitted these demands to Pankaj Jain, Member Secretary of the 8th Pay Commission. Let us look at the key demands of the railway engineers and how they would impact their careers.
'Restore the 5th Pay Commission Structure' – Demand for Pay Revision
According to AIREF General Secretary BP Das, the current salary structure for railway engineers is inadequate to cope with prevailing economic challenges and inflation. He alleged that the salary structure for engineers has steadily deteriorated since the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission.
Higher Pay for Non-Technical Cadres: Railway engineers shoulder highly critical safety and technical responsibilities. Despite this, many non-technical and non-safety cadres currently receive higher salaries than them.
Demand for Restoring Parity: The Federation has demanded that the 8th Pay Commission restore the pay hierarchy that was in effect up to the 5th Pay Commission.
Grant 'Group-B' Status to Railway Engineers
Another major demand of the Federation is that railway engineers be granted 'Group-B' status, similar to officers in other central ministries.
Acute Shortage of Group-B Posts: Representation in Group-B posts within the railways is currently very low. At present, only 0.29% of posts in Indian Railways fall under the Group-B category.
Appeal to Increase Promotion Opportunities: AIREF has demanded that the share of Group-B posts in the railways be increased to match the national average of 7.5%. The scarcity of such posts severely limits opportunities for career advancement and promotion for engineers. Shivkant Singh, the organization's secretary, also raised the issue of growing stagnation and a lack of motivation among engineers.
A look at the key demands of railway employees:
**Key Issue** | **Current Status** | **AIREF's Demand**
**Pay Structure** | Lower pay compared to many non-technical cadres | Restoration of parity (similar to the 5th Pay Commission)
**Group-B Posts** | Merely 0.29% share in the Railways | Increase to 7.5% (in line with the national average)
**Career Growth** | Extremely limited promotion opportunities | Eliminate stagnation and open new avenues for promotion
**Service Status** | Current subordinate structure | Grant Group-B status (like other central ministries)
**A series of meetings is underway across the country**
This meeting regarding the 8th Pay Commission was held on July 6 and 7 as part of nationwide consultations with employee unions, pensioners, and other stakeholders. The Commission is concluding this consultation tour today, July 10, in Kolkata. Similar meetings have previously been held in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Srinagar, and Ladakh.
Apart from the Railways, employee organizations across the country are also continuously pressing for a higher fitment factor, improved allowances, pension reforms, revisions to House Rent Allowance (HRA), and improvements to the MACP scheme.
**What happens next?**
While these meetings will not result in immediate changes to salaries, they provide employee organizations with an opportunity to present evidence and ground-level experiences to support their claims. The recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission—constituted on November 3, 2025—will directly impact over 1.1 crore serving central government employees and pensioners.
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