Coal India appeals to workers to reconsider strike

The Coal India management has appealed to its workers' unions to reconsider their call for a five-day strike from Tuesday.
According to a release issued by the Western Coalfield Ltd (WCL), a subsidiary company of Coal India Ltd, the proposed strike would disturb coal supply to the power plants in the country.
The stir has been called by all unions of Coal India Ltd and its subsidiary companies.
Appealing to the unions to reconsider their decision, WCL Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said that the strike would hit the company's financial position again and lead to losses this year as well.

Central trade unions, including INTUC, BMS, AITUC, HMS and CITU, have given a strike notice to Coal India and called the stir from January 6 to January 10.
INTUC Public Relations Officer Pradeep Kokase told PTI that the government plans to introduce a Bill in order to privatise the sector.
"We have called a strike over our demands, which would favour workers. We have trained manpower, which the private sector does not have. We are confident that we will achieve our target production," he said.
WCL has said that since coal industry is a public utility, it is illegal for the workers associated with it to go on a strike.