Coal workers' strike called off

A five-day countrywide strike by more than five lakh coal workers protesting the government's moves towards commercial mining of the fossil fuel was called off Wednesday night, a trade union leader said.

"The strike has been called off on the second day today," Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) vice president Basant Kumar Rai told IANS.

The BMS, affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was one of the major unions taking part in the strike that hit hard production, particularly in mines of Coal India.

A committee comprising government officials and trade union leaders will be set up to review the workers' demands. The committee will submit a report to the government, he said.

According to industry lobby Assocham, the strike caused a loss of production of over one million tones of coal worth about Rs.200 crore a day.

The strike had the backing of five major trade unions -- BMS, Indian National Trade Union Congress, All India Trade Union Congress, Centre of Indian Trade Unions and Hind Mazdoor Sangh -- which represent almost 90 percent of state-run Coal India's half-a-million workforce.

Coal India Ltd. has near monopoly over coal production and accounts for nearly 82 percent of domestic output.