SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 1: The management of Coal India Limited (CIL) has again excluded the representation of Congress’ trade union Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) from the meeting called for finalizing performance linked award (Bonus) for the miners on September 27.
CIL director personnel Ajay Kumar Choudhary has sought the names of all four nationally recognized trade unions including Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), Hind Mazdoor Sangh (HMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) for the bonus meeting. However, the names of representatives of INTUC were excluded.
This is the 6th successive time since 2017 that CIL has not invited INTUC for the crucial meeting related to miners’ bonuses.
CIL official sources said that due to pending cases in courts between different factions of INTUC, the management has stopped inviting any group.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Union (RCMU) general secretary AK Jha has called it a politically motivated move of the ministry of coal to ignore INTUC and deny representation of a large chunk of miners associated with it.
“The dispute is in INTUC not in Rashtriya Khan Mazdoor Federation (coal wing of INTUC) that had been representing at JBCCI and bonus meetings of CIL. But under political pressure, the CIL management excludes its representation. Even in 2017, Rajendra Prasad Singh (president) S Q Jama and AK Jha as representatives of Rashtriya Khan Mazdoor Federation had participated in the bonus meeting,” said Jha.
RCMS general secretary said it is ironic that CIL has denied representation to the union (Rashtriya Khan Mazdoor Federation) which has 49,000 miners in the coal industry but at the same time, the union that has only 28,000 memberships has been invited.
“It is nothing but a politically-oriented step initiated by the CIL management after the installation of the Modi government. In 2004, a similar dispute had appeared in INTUC when Chandrashekhar Dubey of Jharkhand challenged S Sanjeeva Reddy. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee told the then chief minister of Jharkhand Arjun Munda that INTUC belongs to Congress and Sonia Gandhi is the president of the party. So, she would decide which one is the real INTUC. Hence, CIL should have invited the Federation,” Jha added.
Senior Congress leader and president of Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Sangh Suresh Chandra Jha alleged that on the directive of Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi, CIL has not invited INTUC.
