Rights bodies side miners, want coal block bid axed
Civil rights organisations came out in support of the ongoing strike called by the Singareni coal mines and other mine workers across India against the privatisation of coal mines.
National trade unions demanding the cancellation of the bidding process of 41 coal blocks called for a three-day strike (72 hours) starting from July 2. Recently, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining.
The unions also demanded the cancellation of the 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) permits in coal mining and stopping coal privatisation and commercial mining in the name of outsourcing.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, I. Krishna, state secretary of the international federation of trade unions (IFTU), said, “There are around 53,000 coal mine workers in the state. If all the coal blocks were privatised, it will have an adverse impact on the workers and the state.”
Putting the welfare of workers at stake, the government is handing over the coal mines to private players. If we really want to become self-reliant, then rather than privatising the coal mines and allowing FDI, the government should re-think their strategy and strengthen the core public sector in the interest of the nation,” said Krishna.
On May 16 while announcing the 20 lakh economic package, finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said that to introduce competition, transparency and private sector participation in the coal sector, the government would go for a revenue-sharing mechanism instead of the fixed rupee or tonne mechanism.
On June 18, Modi launched the auction of 41 coal mines for commercial mining, saying the market for the commodity is now open and the sales will help turn the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity.
During the launch, Modi said that the auction process not only marks the beginning of the unlocking of the country’s coal sector from a ‘lockdown of decades’ but aims at making India the largest exporter of coal.
The civil liberties committee has extended its support to 72-hour strike on July 2, 3 and 4, 2020, demanding the scrapping of all endorsed agreements of natural resources to corporates and multinational companies and the protection of workers from privatisation of coal mining in our public sector. In the name of Covid19, the government is trying to subvert labour laws, extending the working hours and paying only half salary to the workers. The government is antilabour and should be condemned, said the Telangana Praja front.
“The TRS government came to power by wooing coal mine workers with welfare schemes. Rather than opposing the central government’s privatising of coal mines, in a way Chief Minister, Rao, is supporting it. We demand that he oppose it in the same manner he did with the electricity amendment bill, 2020,” said K. Ravi Chander, president of Telangana Praja front.