Addressing the employees at Divisional Railway Manager's Office here today, he said the Joint Consultative Machinery would conduct a "strike ballot" between Jan 3 and 10 to take a decision on the proposed stir.

The railway staff will have no alternative but to go on strike as the government has failed to appoint the sixth wage revision committee. Moreover, the employees are yet to get the benefits of Fifth Wage revision.

The Centre will be held responsible if the 34 lakh employees go on strike en masse, he said. The management and the unions had entered into an agreement to pay 61 days' wage as bonus but the Railways paid only 59 days' wage as bonus.

This indicates that the government had no sincerity to implement the agreements reached between the employees federation and the management, he added.

The demands of the employees include wage revision panel, announcement of interim relief, merger of 50 per cent DA with basic pay, cancellation of 2002 running allowance recommendations, cadre restructuring, increase in interest rate on Provident Fund, dropping of contributory pension scheme, pension to casual staff, filling up of vacant posts etc. South Central Railway Employees Sangh divisional secretary M Bhaskara Rao, union assistant general secretary M Ramajoga Rao and divisional president M Haribabu were present.