Trade Unions Defer Strike At Coal India Establishments

Trade unions of Coal India have deferred their strike plan after a court ordered the company to pay salaries as per the latest wage pact.

"The strike has been deferred after a court order directing the company to pay the salaries as per the latest agreement," Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), told PTI over phone.

The strike was planned by five central trade unions -- Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), and Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) -- in October to demand salary of non-executive employees according to National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA) XI.

"In supersession to our letter dated September 27, 2023, kindly note that the representatives of trade unions, while considering the appeal of management, conveyed that the strike in the establishments of CIL and its subsidiaries is deferred," Coal India said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

In June this year, the coal ministry said it approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for non-executive employees of Coal India.

The agreement provides for 19 per cent of the minimum guaranteed benefit from July 1, 2021 on emoluments -- basic, variable dearness allowance (VDA), special dearness allowance (SDA), and attendance bonus -- besides a 25 per cent increase in allowances.

The agreement was reached in May by the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI)-XI, consisting of representatives of CIL management, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the central trade unions, and the Indian National Mine Workers' Federation (INMF).