Miners abstain from duty amid requests and threats
DHANBAD: The ongoing three-day strike to oppose commercialisation of coal mining continued on the second day as hundreds of company workers of Coal India Limited (CIL) and its subsidiaries abstained from duty during the first shift on Friday despite the call to join work by the management and threat of wage cut.
Lakhan Lal Mahto, secretary, Indian Mine Workers Federation, an affiliate of AITUC, said the CIL management is trying to confuse people by putting forward the data also taking in account the removal of overburden.
“Overburden has nothing to do with actual production of coal as well as dispatches. Trade unions are not opposed to CIL but are against the policy of the Union government, that in the future is certainly going to hit CIL too,” he said. General secretary of All India Coal Workers Federation, DD Ramanandan, said the strike was almost 100% across CIL mines, barring a few mines located in West Bengal.
According to Ramanandan, the CIL would suffer a production loss of around six million tonnes due to the strike. Commenting on the appeal of CIL chairman to withdraw the strike, he said the CIL can’t remain untouched from commercial mining if any major international player enters the scenario..
AK Jha said workers joined strike on the second day in areas of BCCL and ECL mines and though some workers marked attendance, they did not work.
Jha termed the threat of wage cut from of CIL and BCCL as an unwarranted attempt to prevent the strike. BCCL CMD PM Prasad said wages of workers, who didn’t report for work, would be deducted as per the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. “Eight days’ wage will be deducted for those absent from duty. On the first day of strike, a mere 6,200 tonnes of production was reported at BCCL mines. Assessment of the second day is on,” he added.