Coal India disinvestments opposed by Trade Union

Kolkata, June 25 (ANI): The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), has opposed the disinvestment of the public sector undertaking, Coal India Limited, by contending it is a profit making venture and such a step would not be in the interest of employees.

Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Jiban Roy, Secretary of CITU said: Disinvestment is a process towards total privatisation and coal mines were in the private, it was nationalised. A bill has been introduced in the Rajya Sabha to denationalise it, therefore workers are very apprehensive, the private mining means slaughter of mines and slaughtering of labourers."

He said coal industry plays a vital role in the Indian economy and disinvestment would mean upsetting a resourceful national entity and letting it to go into the hands of "private exploiters".

He feared that lives of thousands of workers would be at stake if the nationalised coal mining operations, are reverted back to the private sector.

"Coal families, their societies, culture, education are all mainly based on public sector system. Unlike steel and coal, their work force are taken from the metropolis and these work force have come from the rural areas and from the backward area and they are very much conscious that they will loose their identity as coal workers," Roy said.

Roy also said that the CITU would appeal to all the political parties to join the 'struggle' of the coal workers protest against privatisation of the profit-making Coal India Limited. (ANI)