Trade unions at Coal India Ltd., the world’s largest producer of the fuel, will protest a government plan to sell shares.
The government said last week it plans to sell 10% stake in the monopoly miner as part of its asset-sale plan. It sold a similar amount in January this year. The announcement prompted the unions to announce a five-day strike, which they called off after two days, following hours of discussion with coal minister Piyush Goyal.
“These are clear indications that the government is planning to privatize Coal India,” said Jibon Roy, general secretary at the All India Coal Workers Federation, a unit of the left-wing Centre of Indian Trade Unions. “We also regret that the government is taking decisions without holding any consultations.”
The unions fear that greater private ownership may lead to curtailment of employee benefits. They will protest the move at a strike on 2 September, which was announced last month for other reasons, and discuss future actions to dissuade the government from selling further stake.
Last week, the Indian National Trade Union Congress wrote to Goyal, saying the share sale plan was ‘disturbing news’ for Coal India’s workers. The union shared a copy of the letter with Bloomberg.
Coal India’s personnel director R. Mohan Das said the company has received the strike notice for 2 September, but has had no communication from the unions on the government’s share sale plan. Bloomberg
Source: Mint