Union serves strike notice on Coal India

Coal India (CIL) is staring at a shut-down, with the All-India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF) — one of the five trade unions at CIL — serving a strike notice on the state miner to protest against disinvestment.

AICWF has threatened to strike for three days from September 19. “We have served a strike notice on behalf of AICWF. All the unions are united in the protest against disinvestment. We have taken the lead and went ahead with serving the strike notice to keep up the pressure,” AICWF general secretary Jibon Roy told Business Standard. Despite the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu)-led AICWF’s decision to strike, CIL hopes the government’s decision to halve the proposed disinvestment to five per cent will keep other unions from joining the strike. “We are now proposing only five per cent disinvestment. There is no question of further climbing down. We are speaking to the unions, I am confident every union will be on board for this,” Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said.

The Indian Mine Workers’ Federation, affiliated to the All India Trade Union Congress, is likely to join the strike. “We are discussing with Citu. All of us are against the disinvestment. If the government goes ahead, we are also going to join the strike,” said Ramendra Kumar, secretary of Indian Mine Workers Federation. Although Roy and Kumar insisted there is no division among the five unions, other unions, especially Congress-backed Indian National Mine Workers Federation (INMFW), are understood to be in favour of more discussion.

“We want to give more time to the government. We will take a final call after August 15,” said an INMFW leader on condition of anonymity. Other two unions -- Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation (affiliated to Hind Mazdoor Sabha) and coal workers’ union of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, are yet to make their stand clear.

While all the unions claim to have more than 100,000 workers' strength, sources suggests INFW is the leading union in terms of support-base, representing about 40 per cent of the total 3,50,000 workforce of CIL. Other four unions represent 10-15 per cent workforce each.

Earlier, an inter-ministerial panel had cleared 10 per cent stake sale in CIL through offer for sale to raise about Rs  20,000 crore. However, with a series of meeting with unions, Coal ministry said it would sell only five per cent stake.

‘Coal block auction in two months’
Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said on Wednesday that the government would initiate the process of auctioning coal blocks over the next two months. The number of blocks to be put on auction are yet to be finalised, he added.

According to officials, four blocks would be put on the block in the first phase, for which provisional clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests has already been secured.