India’s Coal Minister to Meet With Unions

Business Standard reported that leaders of India’s coal mine worker unions will meet with the country’s coal and power ministry on Tuesday as the government attempts to avert a strike over the possible introduction of commercial coal mining to the country.

As quoted in the publication:

The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014, was brought in October this year in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision cancelling 214 coal blocks. Apart from facilitating auctioning of the cancelled coal blocks, the ordinance allows private players to mine coal and sell it in the open market, which has been particularly opposed by the unions. So far, the right to commercial mining was reserved for Coal India.

Five unions — Citu-led All-India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF), Indian Mine Workers’ Federation (affiliated to AITUC), Congress-backed Indian National Mine Workers Federation (INMFW), Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation (affiliated to HMS) and Bharatiya Janata Party-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) — have been unanimously opposing the move.

Jibon Roy of All India Coal Workers Federation told Business Standard:

We will attend the meeting tomorrow (Tuesday). But we are not changing our stand. If the government goes ahead passing this Bill in Parliament, we would resort to strike.

Click here to read the full article.