Coal news and updates

Govt takes tough stance on Coal India strike

November 21: Even as the trade unions of Coal India Ltd (CIL) are geared up for a day-long strike on November 24, the central government has taken a tough stance, refusing to hold talks unless the strike call is withdrawn.

“The coal minister (Piyush Goyal) has refused to meet us. The government has put in the condition that we first withdraw the strike and then hold talks. It was conveyed to us through the CIL management,” said a senior leader of the All-India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF), the CITU-backed union.

“This is being taken as a challenge by the workers. All the collieries, including those of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL), will go all out to make it (the strike) a success,” he said.

Earlier, the workers held demonstrations at various coal mines against privatisation on November 5-7. Subsequently, the CIL management held a meeting with the unions on November 12 but failed to dissuade them from holding the strike as planned.

However, among the five central unions, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has not made any formal announcement about its involvement in the industrial action, sources said.