Coal news and updates

Coal India unions call for a day’s strike to protest against disinvestment

Five central trade unions representing almost 90 per cent of the workmen of Coal India have served a notice to the coal major's management for a day's strike on March 29 to protest disinvestment in the largest coal producer. The strike will also be observed at Singareni Collieries Company.

According to a statement jointly released by INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CITU, there would be joint demonstration on February 19 followed by work to rule from March 7 to 10 and a day's strike on March 29, described in the work profile of a worker.

The charter of demand for the unions include stoppage and withdrawal of disinvestment of CIL. They are also asking for increase in import duty on coal and tweaking its price so that domestic coal is cheaper than imported ones and rationalisation of coal pricing accordingly. The demand charter also includes conclusion of wage negotiations for the next round of salary hike by June 2016. The unions have also been asking new coal block operators to absorb labourers that were employed by former block operators before they were declared illegal by the Supreme Court and full wage be paid to them.

The unions have asked the company to reoperationalise running coal mines at the earliest. There are around 3.2 lakh workmen at Coal India, affiliated to one of the five unions. During 2013 when the UPA government was in power, the unions successfully thwarted the Centre's effort to divest 10 per cent stake in the company. Later the UPA government scaled down the divestment target to 5 per cent, which was finally abandoned. During the NDA's rule, the Centre managed to divest a 10 per cent stake in the company — Coal India's second round of disinvestment — through an offer for sale under which bulk of the shares were placed to institutional investors. The unions were taken by surprise during the second round of divestment because it was announced and executed within a short time, leaving no time for the unions to even call a strike. Unions require at least 15 days to serve a strike notice.

Source: Economic Times