Strike affects work in Bengal coal mines

KOLKATA: Production in coal mines run by state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries was hit on Tuesday as workers went on a one-day strike to protest against the government’s move to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in coal mines, said an official at the company, the world’s largest coal producer.

“Attendance was down to an average of 30% in all the eight subsidiaries of CIL across the country. The figure included the executives, who were not a part of the strike,” said a CIL senior official, requesting anonymity.

“The production figures will be available only late in the evening.”

CIL operates in two shifts – 6 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 10 pm. Attendance was higher at coal mines in Bengal. In the mines of Eastern Coalfields (ECL), a subsidiary of CIL, about 64% of workers reported for duty on Tuesday, said an official of ECL, which operates mines in Bengal and Jharkhand.

“These are non-executive cadre workers who go down into the mines to extract coal,” said the ECL official. ECL operates a total of 89 mines Bengal and neighbouring Jharkhand. The official said four unions affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) are active in ECL.

Five central trade unions called the one-day strike to protest against the Centre’s decision to allow FDI in coal mining.

Explaining their opposition, CITU’s general secretary Tapan Sen said in a statement, “The BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government has allowed 100% FDI in coal mining through the automatic route. The foreign companies can not only extract coal from our coal mines but also sell them at market prices including exporting it. The government allowed these profits to be siphoned off to their countries.”

The trade unions have planned an open mass convention on September 30 near Parliament to announce a campaign against the Centre’s move, Sen added.

Just a day ago, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said her TMC would stage protests against the Centre’s decision to disinvest public sector units. These would be held in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai over the next few days.

“On October 18, we would launch a protest march in the metro cities. Trinamool leaders would also hold a 48-hour dharna in the national capital,” Banerjee had said.