State-owned Coal India on Wednesday said a three-day strike call given by five central trade unions this month at all its subsidiaries has been deferred.
“…the representatives of trade unions, while considering the appeal of management, conveyed that the strike in the establishments of CIL and its subsidiaries is deferred,” Coal India said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
A total of five trade unions — BMS, INTUC, CITU, AITUC and HMS — had given a call for strike from October 12-14 over the issues pertaining to wage payment, Nathulal Pandey, president of HMS-affiliated Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation, told PTI.
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According to All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the strike has been deferred after a court ordered the CIL management to pay salaries as per the latest agreement.
“The strike has been deferred after a court order directing the company to pay the salaries as per the latest agreement,” Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), told PTI over phone.
The trade unions had earlier announced a three-day strike from October 5-7 and later postponed it to October 12-14.
On September 20, the public sector coal producer had said, “CIL is in receipt of joint strike notice from central trade unions…for observing 3 days strike from 5th to 7th October, 2023 in Coal lndia Ltd & its subsidiaries.” In an exchange filing on September 27, CIL had said, “The representatives of trade unions while considering the appeal of CIL management conveyed that they shall go on strike in establishments of CIL/subsidiaries from 12th-14th October, 2023.” CIL had further said that in its letter addressed to Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), it had requested for a prompt action in order to safeguard the interest of the company as well as the country since the industry has been declared as ‘Public Utility Service’ and uninterrupted production and supply of coal to power plants is essential to ensure electricity generation and supply.
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In June this year, the coal ministry said it approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for non-executive employees of Coal India.
The agreement provides for 19 per cent of the minimum guaranteed benefit from July 1, 2021 on emoluments — basic, variable dearness allowance (VDA), special dearness allowance (SDA), and attendance bonus — besides a 25 per cent increase in allowances.
The agreement was reached in May by the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI)-XI, consisting of representatives of CIL management, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the central trade unions, and the Indian National Mine Workers’ Federation (INMF).
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Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. The average production of PSU is about 1.5 million tonnes a day.