Coal workers call off strike following government assurances

Coal workers have called off their nationwide strike last night following government assurances that the state-run Coal India Limited will not be privatised and that the employees' interest will be protected.

The proposed five-day strike, which had entered its second day yesterday, was called off after a six-hour long meeting between Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and the representatives of the coal workers in New Delhi.

Goyal announced that a committee will be constituted to look into the concerns of the workers.

The committee, headed by a joint-secretary level officer, will include one representative from each of the five trade unions that had called the strike.

During the strike, loss of production was estimated at Rs. 300 crore, with over 75 per cent of the daily 1.5 million tonnes output taking a hit.

The end of the strike has provided relief to the power sector, which was facing the prospect of fuel supplies drying up.

The strike was called by the five major coal unions, including the ruling-BJP backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), mainly in protest against the recent Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance that paves the way for opening the sector to competition and denationalization of commercial coal mining.