KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Industrial unrest is once again brewing at Coal India Limited's (CIL's) operations with major trade unions threatening to disrupt the production and transportation of coal from mines across the country.
The trade unions have opened up two fronts for direct action against CIL management and the federal Coal Ministry.
The unions are planning protests, from March 1, against the Indian government’s plan to sell a further 10% equity in CIL, decreasing its holding in the mining company to around 69%.
The government reportedly intends to raise an estimated $2.98-billion through this round of divestment in the mining company.
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) said in a statement that all trade unions, representing around 314 000 workers, would take a common stand against the government over the proposed disinvestment, given that the government had previously assured there would be no further equity dilution.
The trade unions plan to chalk out a common strategy, including a blanket stoppage of production and sales across all CIL operations, the trade unions said.
While CIL officials said it was too early to estimate the impact of the planned industrial unrest on production, several officials conceded, off the record, that it would definitely threaten the company's 598.61-million tonnes production target for 2016/17.
CIL’s production for April 2016 to January was already 45-million tonnes short of target.
INTUC is, meanwhile, also planning to carry out indefinite disruptions to protest the Coal Ministry’s move to exclude the union from participating in bipartite and tripartite committees involved in negotiating with CIL management on various issues, including wage revision talks.
INTUC was excluded from participating in the Joint Bi-partite Committee of the Coal Industry, the management-worker platform for negotiations on issues including wage revision.
INTUC has claimed that Coal Ministry’s decision to bar it from participating in the committees was "political vindictiveness", as the union was the labour arm of the principal opposition to the ruling federal government.
However, the Coal Ministry has countered that INTUC's exclusion was based in recommendations of the Labour Ministry and the latter’s decision was based in intra-INTUC leadership tussle.