Speaking at a programme organised to distribute bonus cheques to Singareni workers on Monday, Bhatti said there was a need to reduce the cost of coal production to a large extent, only then would the company have a future. The production cost of contract workers was much lower than the production cost of Singareni workers in coal production, and if these differences were corrected, the company could achieve more profits and development, he observed.
A percentage of the profits was being used by the company to start new mines and new businesses, he said, adding that the State government was taking measures to protect the interest of both the company and its workers. “The Singareni organization belongs to its workers, and the company’s assets are the property of the workers. The government’s only responsibility is to sustain and support them,”he said.