SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Mar 4: Notwithstanding Cong Party cleared all confusion regarding its real labour organization, Coal India Limited (CIL) again overlooked the participation of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) at the meeting on miners-related issues.
The CIL management has called a meeting on ‘Production and Productivity’ at Kolkata on March 6 in which top leaders of the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh’s (BMS) K Laxma Reddy, the Hind Mazdoor Sabha’s (HMS) Nathulal Pandey, the All India Trade Union Cong’s (AITUC) Ramendra Kumar and the Central Industrial Trade Union’s (CITU) DD Ramanad have been invited. But INTUC has been overlooked.
Since the 2017 National Coal Wage Agreement, CIL has been denying seats to INTUC in the JBCCI meeting in the name factional feud. Even at the JBCCI meeting for the 11th NCWA held in 2022, representatives of INTUC were not given seats.
However, after Cong’s supreme Sonia Gandhi declared G Saneeva Reddy’s INTUC faction original labour organisation of the party in December 2022 and at the same time directed Chandrashekhar Dubey (Jharkhand) and RK Tiwari (Uttar Pradesh) factions to withdraw the cases from the courts, the claim of INTUC became strong.
Moreover, when on February 10, 2023, the double bench of the Kolkata High Court ordered CIL to allow representatives of the Indian National Mines Workers Federation (INTUC) at the JBCCI meeting, it was expected that CIL will include INTUC at the meeting but CIL overlooked INTUC for March 6 meeting again.
The INTUC national secretary AK Jha when contacted on Saturday admitted that his leader has not been invited but said that positive results would soon come any day and any moment from CIL to INTUC.
Sources said during the NDA regime, a similar situation also appeared in 2002 for ignoring INTUC in the name factional feud but then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had directed the ministry of coal that INTUC is the labour organization of the Cong Party. Since Sonia Gandhi is chief of Cong, consider her recognized body as original.
“Since Sonia Gandhi has recognized G Sanjeeva Reddy, CIL should not create confusion,” said an INTUC leader.
The CIL Kolkata official could not be available for comment over overlooking INTUC, but a senior trade union leader said that since cases of INTUC factions are still pending in courts, CIL management maintained the status quo.
“Moreover Kolkata High Court has directed to allow Indian national Mines Workers Federation (INMWF) only at JBCCI meeting. On March 6 meeting has been called on the issue of Production and Productivity,” so the INTUC leader has been ignored.
However, one of the senior AITUC leaders Lakhan Lal Mahto Mahto contacted said that the agenda of the March 6 meeting is no doubt fixed but when the top trade union leaders and CIL officials will sit at a table definitely miners related other issues would be discussed.
