CIL could raise price after wage revision

The country’s largest coal miner Coal India today indicated it might go for a price rise next year after the wage revision, due in 2011, comes into effect.

“The trade unions demanded and we agreed in one of the meetings that we will try and freeze the wage revision before it becomes due. Normally, a price revision is associated with a wage revision. And, if that happens it is possible it could be neutralized by a price revision,” said Coal India chairman Partha Bhattacharya, briefing the media during the company’s IPO price conference.

Employee expenses account for over 40 per cent of the company’s coal cost and are subject to periodic revision. The company’s last wage revision was effected in 2006. After intense negotiations, the National Coal Wage Agreement was finalized in 2009 and wages were revised with retrospective effect. To cover the impact of wage revision, around Rs 6,500 crore was provided in 2007-08 and 2008-09.