Railway Unions go on strike

KOCHI: A strike was held on Saturday by the Southern Central Railway Mazdoor Union and the All India Railwaymen’s Federation, which demanded that the railway authorities pay the medical expenses of one of its employees, K J Paulson, who was bitten by a snake last week. The Kerala Express, which was supposed to leave by 3.40 pm was delayed for an hour, due to the protest.  The strike  came to an end when Divisional Railway Manager George John declared that the railway authorities would pay Paulson’s expenses and take the responsibility for all such accidents.During the protest, SRMU President S Gopikrishnan said , “We are only asking the railway authorities to pay for the medical treatment of an employee who met with an unfortunate accident while he was working on duty.”A Pointsman at the Southern railway station Paulson, was bitten by a snake on July 18 while on night duty  at the marshalling yard, 2 km from the station.  His colleagues immediately rushed him to the Medical Trust Hospital and saved his life.  SRMU secretary K N Sreerajan said, “ The railway authorities promised that they would pay for Paulson’s treatment. But, when he was supposed to be discharged, they changed their mind saying they do not have a provision for this.” “There is a provision for treatment at the Lakshmi Hospital here. But the hospital does not have an agreement to treat us for anti-venom. We want the railway authorities to take responsibility for us.”