Coal trade unions begin 5-day strike as country grapples with fuel shortage
New Delhi, Jan6: Trade unions on Tuesday began a five-day coal industry strike, terming it as the biggest industrial action for any sector since 1977.
The unions have gone on strike to protest against 'disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India' and to press for their other demands including the roll-back of what they call as "process of denationalising of coal sector".
While All India Coal Workers Federation leader Jibon Roy said in a statement that about seven lakh workers are joining the strike, the government has also called a meeting today with representatives of major trade unions - BMS, INTUC, AITUC, CITU and HMS -- to sort out the issue. The strike can affect coal production of up to 1.5 million tonnes a day and may also hit supplies to power plants which are already grappling with fuel shortages.
"We are hopeful the situation would be resolved in an amicable manner. The precise impact of the strike would be known later and it would be premature to predict (the impact) at this juncture," Coal India's newly appointed chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya told reporters.
"It is true that production picks up tempo in the last quarter, as the closure of fiscal draws near. It is unfortunate that the unions have called the strike. We have appealed to them to withdraw the strike in national interest and even now our efforts are on to persuade them to refrain from going into strike," he said.
The trade unions have boycotted earlier meeting called by the government twice. "The workers across the nation have proceeded on strike," Indian National Mineworkers' Federation (INMF) Secretary General SQ Zama said, while adding that the strike began from the first shift starting 6 am today.
"Almost 100% of Coal India (CIL) workers are participating in the agitation. Only handful of emergency services are continuing," he said, while adding that around 70-80% of SCCL (Singareni Collieries Company Ltd) workers are also protesting. A Coal India official said "there is picketing outside CIL headquarters in Kolkata as of now."
The protest comes at a time when the power plants across the country are grappling with fuel shortages. Coal India Ltd had earlier said that it has already stepped up supplies of the power plants, which have been facing fuel shortages, to tide over the likely disruption of supplies due to the strike.
"CIL is suppling extra volumes of coal to the power plants and the Railways is fully cooperating with the coal PSU," an official had said yesterday.
CIL,
which
accounts
for
over
80%
of
domestic
coal
production,
has
a
workforce
of
over
3
lakh.
All
five
major
trade
unions
of
the
coal
PSU
had
boycotted
a
meeting
called
by
Coal
Minister
Piyush
Goyal
last
week.
Meanwhile,
electricity
workers
union
EEFI
has
also
extended
its
support
to
the
strike
call.
PTI