SCCL unions to meet Union Minister

Hyderabad: The unions at Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have decided to meet Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi next week requesting withdrawal of the Centre’s move to auction four coal blocks in Singareni. The meeting is to step up pressure on the Central government to withdraw the auction proposal. If the Centre fails […]

Hyderabad: The unions at Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) have decided to meet Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi next week requesting withdrawal of the Centre’s move to auction four coal blocks in Singareni. The meeting is to step up pressure on the Central government to withdraw the auction proposal.

If the Centre fails to respond positively to their demand, the unions are considering going on an indefinite strike, Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham president B Venkat Rao said on Sunday. He said the unions were seeking appointment with the Union Coal Minister next week and based on his availability on December 15, 16 and 17, the leaders would meet him and explain in detail the situation in Singareni.

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The leaders said the interests of SCCL were more important along with employees’ welfare. “We will not tolerate any move which will hamper the development of Singareni,” they said, adding that the Centre should not place four coal blocks – JVR OC-III, Shravanapally, Koyagudem and KK6 incline – in Singareni for auction.

Based on the response of the Union Coal Minister, the unions will chalk out an action plan after taking part in the scheduled meeting with the SCCL management on January 20. “We will not hesitate to go on an indefinite strike if the Centre fails to respond to our demands,” the leaders said.

Meanwhile, the environs of coal mines in Singareni areas witnessed hectic activity on Sunday since the employees resumed duties after going on a 72-hour strike demanding withdraw of the auction proposal.

The strike came to an end on Saturday evening. Rao said 75 per cent of the staff returned to duty while the remaining 25 per cent remained absent due to various reasons. Since the strike came to an end on Saturday, the SCCL urged the employees to get back to work on Sunday, which is generally a holiday, by making changes in rules for transporting coal from coal handling plants.

The request was made to meet coal requirements of the State and the country to generate power. Owing to the strike, coal production and their transport was affected.