Nalco plans group insurance cover for mine workers

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is likely to a face 33 per cent drop in alumina output as bauxite production from its Panchpatmali mines in Orissa’a Koraput district has dropped 35 per cent. The Panchpatmali mines were seized by Naxals recently and workers have refused to carry out production beyond 5 PM.

The company is mullling a group insurance cover for mine workers as an incentive to boost output.

Mine workers are reluctant to work in the B-shift (2pm to 10 pm) in the aftermath of the Naxalite attack on April 12, which claimed the lives of ten Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel.

“We want to restart the B-shift operations at the Panchpatmali mines as soon as possible to achieve normal production levels. To motivate mine workers to work in the B-shift, Nalco is thinking of measures like a group insurance cover and strengthening of security at mines,” said CR Pradhan, chairman and managing director, Nalco.

Nalco was in talks with Life Insurance Corporation of India to offer group insurance cover to the mine workers, but the details were yet to be worked out, he added.

On Sunday, Pradhan met the office bearers of four employees unions of the mine workers. The workers asked for enhanced security, hike in special allowance and transfer of the mine workers to different units within the company. Pradhan ruled out any hike in special allowance for the mine workers. “The mine workers are already entitled to a special allowance, which is higher than the special allowance drawn by their counterparts in other units of Nalco. We cannot agree for any hike in special allowance as this will encourage similar demands from our workers engaged in the other units.”

The aluminium major aims to revive its normal production level of bauxite at 14,000 tonnes per day to avert any possible drop in its alumina output at its refinery unit at Damanjodi, located about 16 km from the Panchpatmali mines. The Damanjodi alumina refinery is now running at full capacity at 4,500 tonnes per day.

Following the Naxalite attack, Nalco’s bauxite output has fallen from 14,000 tonnes per day to 9,000 tonnes a day as mine workers were reluctant to carry out mining beyond 5 pm. The slump in bauxite production threatened to reduce output of Nalco’s alumina refinery plant by one-third as the company barely had 15 days of bauxite stock.