Strike Will Have Some Impact On Coal Production, Says Minister
The strike will have some impact on coal production, says Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi.
Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said the day-long strike by workers of Coal India Ltd. and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. will have “some impact on coal production” but he hopes things to normalise by Wednesday.
This comes after five federations representing over half-a-million workers of Coal India and Singareni Collieries went on strike seeking withdrawal of the central government’s decision to allow 100 percent foreign direct investment in coal mining. State-run Coal India produces more than 80 percent of India’s coal.
The government is trying to have negotiations with them, Joshi said. “We are open to talks and finding a solution. Hopefully, everything will be fine by tomorrow.”
A senior Coal India official whom BloombergQuint called, declined to comment on the issue.
In a bid to deregulate the coal sector, the government last month allowed 100 percent FDI in commercial coal mining via automatic route. It had allowed commercial coal mining by private players since February 2018—a move which is yet to bear any fruit since local players like the Adani Group, Tata Group and GMR Group evinced little interest.
According to research firm Emkay Global, although the initiative of approval of 100 percent FDI in merchant coal mining is a welcome move, India is still some time away from merchant coal mining given the overarching presence of Coal India, shortage of rakes, time taken for land acquisition and various approvals from state and central governments.
The ministry has not finalised the dates for auction of commercial coal mining yet, Joshi said.
RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh said they will continue the strike if the government doesn’t listen to their demands. “Approval of 100 percent FDI in commercial coal mining will adversely impact employment of workers. There may be layoffs or pay cuts of workers if this happens,” its leader BK Rai told BloombergQuint over the phone. Talks with the government are on and no decision has been taken so far, he said.
The world’s largest coal miner missed production target for 13th consecutive year in 2018-19. And it delayed the production target of 1 billion tonnes by two years till financial year 2024-25.