Coal India trade unions fear delay in wage negotiation

Asection of trade unions in state-owned Coal India (CIL) is fearing that the ongoing process of wage revision may get delayed, following the termination of Mohan Das from the CIL’s board. Das, who held the portfolio of the director of personnel and industrial relations in the company, was a key member in the 10th Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI) for pay revision of over three lakh nonexecutive employees, working at its eight subsidiaries.

“Mohan Das, along with the management, has been negotiating with the trade unions for long and with his sudden termination, this process may get delayed,” Rajendro Prasad Singha, general secretary of the Forward Block-supported Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation (HKMF), said. Singha is one of the representatives in JBCCI.

The JBCCI was set up in November last year to look at the revision of pay, pension and other health benefits of the workers.

Although there is no mandatory deadline for the negotiation to be completed, usually it takes more than a year to complete the collective bargaining. The last time when such negotiations took place, a 25 per cent hike was agreed upon in a six-month time frame.

“With encouraging results last time, we were hoping that this time, the negotiations will be over soon. But a new member in JBCCI will take time to get his hands on the process, which might delay it,” said S Q Zama, secretary-general of the Congress-affiliated Indian National Mineworkers Federation.The company, however, thinks differently.

“Das has been replaced in JBCCI by a person of a similar grade. It is unwise to think that a person who holds the portfolio of a director will not have personnel handling capabilities,” a senior CIL official stated. Following Das’s termination, CIL has vested his responsibility and department to S N Prasad, the company’s director of marketing.

Das said, “Over the years, one develops a relation with the trade unions on account of continuous interaction. Now, the trade unions will interact with another person. But then, the comfort level and trust need to be rebuilt.”

The trade unions have asked for a 50 per cent hike, while CIL is yet to decide on the minimum amount to start the negotiation process.