Coal news and updates

Goyal to meet Coal India unions on January 2

December 19: India’s coal minister, Piyush Goyal, would hold a meeting with representatives of Coal India (CIL) unions on January 2, days before the prolonged coal strike begins, a union source told ICMW.

“The minister has sought to meet the unions on January 2. However, we are yet to decide if we will attend it,” a leader of CITU-backed AICWF said.

There was also doubt over the participation of some other unions.

Asked about the response of the CIL management to the strike call, he said, “The management does not come into the picture as the ministry is running the show now.”

Meanwhile, the CITU-back union, on December 19, sent its formal notice to the Ministry of Coal (MoC) on its decision to hold a day-long strike on January 13. The other four unions have called a five-day strike starting January 6.

The strike called to protest the government’s move to “denationalize” the coal sector, is expected to result in production loss of around 7-8 million tons.