New Delhi, Apr 2 (IANS): Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) member Manoj Kumar Jha on Friday wrote to Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal over the removal of IRCTC's hospitality supervisors amid the Covid-19 pandemic and appealed to him to save jobs of those engaged by the Indian Railways' catering arm.

"I am writing to you on behalf of hundreds of contractual hospitality supervisors of the IRCTC, who are working with the organisation," Jha said in a letter to Goyal.

The RJD leader said he wants to bring into the notice of the Railway Minister that these supervisors had been hired by the IRCTC on April 23, 2019 for the supervision of catering services, quality inspection in trains as well as into the catering units of Indian Railways premises.

Jha said that the contractual workers gave their best to the railways even during the pandemic as they were actively engaged in the management and supervision of food delivery services in the Shramik Special trains run by railways to transport the stranded migrant workers, students, tourists and pilgrims across the country.

"But to our utter shock, I am informed by these employees from various locations that they have been categorically told by the IRCTC authorities to search for new jobs adding further that after 20 days they would not be part of the service anymore. The feeble argument from the IRCTC is that they were hired on a two-year contract which is ending now," the RJD member wrote in his letter.

He also pointed out that all these hospitality supervisors are trained hoteliers and many even have professional hospitality degrees and also highlighted that the hotel industry is among the worst affected during the Covid-19 crisis.

"Therefore it is unimaginable that they would be employed by the hotel industry amid an unprecedented crisis".

Jha added: "I remember during the course of an intervention by me in the Budget session of Parliament, you had emphatically assured that nobody shall be terminated from the job."