Kochi: A comparatively easier physical test for women by the railway recruitment cell has resulted in an influx of new women recruits in the Southern Railway so much so that there is an acute shortage of personnel for tough physical jobs like coupling of coaches.
As per the records of the Thiruvananthapuram division, women have formed nearly 70 per cent of the new recruits in the last six months. Railway officials say a comparatively easier physical test – women candidates are asked to run 400 metres in three minutes while their male counterparts have to complete 1,500 metres in six minutes-- and more women job aspirants are the chief reasons.
“The physical tests are easier for women as they are not tested for endurance (one lap instead of three for men) and the time provided is also sufficient. Most of them qualify while more male candidates fail in the test. For instance, out of the 600 candidates recruited in the division in the last two months, nearly 450 are women,” said an official with the division’s personnel department.
The majority of them were deployed in operation and mechanical departments while 70 were posted in the traffic department. According to officials, this has led to a situation where the women personnel are required to do works involving tough physical activity like coupling of coaches in stations like Ernakulam North.
“In the Ernakulam coaching depot, 50 of them were deployed as is the case with the diesel shed. However, there are no facilities like toilets in the coaching depot located in isolated places away from the main station,” said a mechanical staff member.
