PTI
 
Mumbai, Jan 5: The all-India railway employees are planning to go on a strike in February 2006 to highlight their demands, including pay revision.

The railway employees' unions are demanding, among other things, constitution of sixth pay commission. But considering "rigid" attitude of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the unions will have to resort to a strike, Western Railway Mazdoor Sangh (WRMS) General Secretary J G Mahulkar told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Both national federation of Indian Railway men (to which WRMS is affiliated) and All India Railway men's Federation have held polls to decide whether to call strike, and the results would be declared in the next two days, Mahulkar said.

Claiming that "general mood is in favour of the strike", Mahurkar said after the poll results, there would be a meeting of top union leaders in Delhi on January 15, 2006 in which the final decision would be taken.

He said despite the recommendation of fifth pay commission to set up next commission by 2003, the government was refusing to do so.

"We are ready to negotiate but government is in no mood to entertain us," he alleged.

Later, WRMS workers also burnt an effigy of Chidambaram at the Union office at Bombay Central terminus.

Other demands of the railway men included filling up of around two lac vacancies and changing the present pension scheme, a WRMS release said.

"Working conditions too are abysmal and they must be improved," Mahurkar said.