Efforts on to resolve 'work to rule' notice from workers: CIL

Says efforts are being made to reconcile the same

Coal India has said efforts are on to resolve the issue of two-day 'work-to-rule' notice served by its five major trade unions.

The coal major has received a joint notice, enclosing a charter of demands, from five trade unions INTUC, BMS, HMS, AITUC and CJTU for resorting to 'Work to Rule' with effect from September 18 to 20 in all the mines/establishments, CIL said.

"Efforts are being made to reconcile the same," Coal India said in a filing to the BSE.

A joint notice has been received by the company from Secretary General, Indian National Mineworkers Federation enclosing a charter of demands.

Trade unions, in the notice, said, "Recently the Supreme Court has decided allocation of coal blocks to the private as well as state/central public sectors since 1993 as illegal.

"Five CTUs had been consistently demanding to stop/retrieve back coal blocks allotted for captive use to private parties. We reiterate and demand to return back the coal blocks to CIL."

The CTUs - Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), AICWF and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) - which represent CIL workers, said they would resort to work to rule from September 18 to 20 and would decide the future strategy on September 21 if their demands, including immediate stop on any further disinvestment in CIL are not met.

The charter of demands also include scrapping "Coal Videsh" and preventing any move to acquire overseas mines by it so that the money can be utilised in coal projects in India which in turn would generate employment.

Their demands also included infrastructure status to coal with budgetary support.

The Supreme Court on August 25 has said that all coal block allocations made from 1993 to 2010 before pre-auction era during previous NDA and UPA regimes have been done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".

The apex court, which had examined the allocation of 218 blocks, said: "Common good and public interest have, thus, suffered heavily" as "there was no fair and transparent procedure, all resulting in unfair distribution of the national wealth."

The government is likely to soon approve disinvestment of CIL which may fetch the exchequer Rs 22,000 crore.

The proposal for 10 per cent disinvestment of CIL is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its next meeting.

A planned stake sale in CIL in the last financial year had to be deferred after stiff opposition from the trade unions. The coal major had to make up for that by paying about Rs 19,000 crore as dividend to the exchequer.