Delay in coal wage agreement will push Coal India miners to strike: INMF

SUBHASH MISHRA

Dhanbad, Feb 18: Expressing resentment over the delay in national coal wage agreement -11, the Indian National Mines Federation (INTUC) has announced that 2.5 lakh miners of Coal India Limited (CIL) including around 1 lakh Jharkhand-based coal companies workers would go on a nationwide strike after Uttar Pradesh assembly election.

INMF vice-president AK Jha today said that since the Government of India’s policy is to delay the wage board agreement, miners of CIL have been left with no option but to go on strike. The Federation would hand over the notice to the management after the UP election.

JBCCI meeting for National Coal Wage-11 concluded without agreement on February 14 and the next parley has been called in April.

“The main hurdle in the agreement is the meager 5% Minimum Guaranteed Basic (MGB) offer of the management while the demand of trade unions is 40%. Moreover, rather than talking about the restoration of deducted facilities of miners, at the meeting the government of India stressed extending the wage board agreement for 10 years in place of five years which is unacceptable for miners,” said Jha.

The INMF leader said at the time of the nationalization of the coal industry, the wage board agreement was fixed for 3.5 years. Later it was extended to 4 years and followed by 5 years. But now the Government of India is trying to impose it for 10 years.

A trade union leader said that the intention of the government of India is not fair as the 10^th wage board agreement was finalized in three meetings but in the 11^th wage board agreement so far three sittings have been done but no solution looks on the cards.

“The CIL management has deducted miners’ facilities such as jobs on female VRS, ward of a medically unfit miner, land losers and underground mines allowance that were given in 10^th wage board agreement. But all has been deducted in the name of loss for which miners are not responsible,” said the INMF vice-president.

Notably, due to factional feuds in INTUC, Congress-affiliated trade unions have no representation in JBCCI.