In a first in SCCL’s history company executives on agitation path for PRP, pay upgradation

Singareni Collieries executives have launched an agitation and relay hunger strike demanding the release of Rs 277 crore in pending performance-related pay arrears and implementation of pay upgradation, alleging that the State government has delayed approval despite the SCCL Board clearing the proposal

Kothagudem: For the first time in the history of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the company’s executives have launched an agitation in support of their demands.

The Congress government’s failure to clear the performance-related pay (PRP) arrears pending for the past couple of years has forced as many as 2,300 executives across the 12 SCCL areas to take to the streets.

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According to company officials, the SCCL Board has cleared the proposal to disburse the PRP to the executives, but the company management is waiting for the government’s approval. The PRP has to be cleared soon after the closure of the financial year.

The members of the Coal Mines Officers Association of India (CMOAI)-affiliated Singareni Officers Association took out protest rallies wearing black badges in the Godavarikhani RG Area and Srirampur Area, followed by a massive rally in Kothagudem last month. However, there has been no response from the government.

As a result, the association has launched a relay hunger strike in the Kothagudem Corporate, Yellandu, Manuguru, Ramagundam-I, Ramagundam-II, Ramagundam-III, Srirampur, Mandamarri, Bellampalli, Bhupalpally and Sathupalli areas in Kothagudem, Peddapalli, Mancherial, Asifabad, Bhupalpally and Khammam districts.

Speaking to Telangana Today, the Singareni Officers Association president, T Lakshmipathi Goud, and corporate secretary Venkata Chary said PRP dues worth Rs 277 crore – Rs 117 crore for 2022-23 and Rs 160 crore for 2023-24 – were yet to be paid.

The PRP was last paid in 2021-22. Several representations made to the SCCL management and the government seeking the clearance of the PRP dues have yielded no result. The association is also demanding implementation of fair pay upgradation for Singareni officials, as is being done in Coal India.

The relay hunger strike, launched on June 29, entered its eighth day on Monday. The management should immediately implement the pay upgradation and clear the pending PRP arrears without any delay, the association leaders said.