SCCL to engage women workers as heavy machinery operators in opencast mines

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) will, for the first time, appoint women General Assistants and Badili workers as heavy machinery operators in opencast mines. Eligible women will receive training in Sircilla before appointment. SCCL is also reviving women security guard roles

Peddapalli: In a major step towards empowering women in the mining sector and ensuring equal opportunities, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has decided to appoint women General Assistants and Badili workers as operators of heavy machinery in opencast mines.

This is the first time in SCCL’s history that women will be given the chance to operate heavy machinery in opencast mines. The company, which has already recruited women for underground mining operations, issued a circular on Saturday inviting applications from eligible women employees.

---

Women workers currently employed as General Assistants or Badili workers, below 35 years of age and with a minimum educational qualification of Class 7, can apply. Applicants must be physically fit and hold at least a two-wheeler or four-wheeler driving licence, with preference given to those who obtained it before August 2024.

Applications must be submitted in the prescribed format to the respective Mine Manager, Department Head or General Manager. A committee headed by the General Manager (CPP) will scrutinise the applications and shortlist eligible candidates.

Selected candidates will undergo training at the Telangana Institute of Driving Education and Skills, Sircilla, in Heavy Goods Vehicle and Heavy Motor Vehicle operations. After training, they will be appointed as EP Operator Trainee Category-5, subject to vacancy and successful completion of the selection test.

Meanwhile, SCCL management has also decided to revive the women security guard system, which was discontinued five years ago after the retirement of earlier recruits. Initially, women family members of deceased employees were offered jobs in Clefill sheds, and later deployed as security guards after the sheds were closed. At that time, each area had between five and ten women security guards. The company is now considering reinstating this system.

Currently, nearly 2,000 women employees are working in workshops, GM offices, underground mines, stores and other departments, most of them under the General Assistant category.