TBGKS demands 35% profit share for Singareni coal workers ahead of Dasara
TBGKS has demanded a 35% profit share for coal miners of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), citing their contribution to the PSU’s earnings and the upcoming Dasara festival. At a press conference, TBGKS honorary president Koppula Eshwar criticised the Congress-led government for allegedly misleading workers and undermining employment rules.
Hyderabad: The Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) leadership on Sunday demanded a substantial increase in profit sharing for coal miners and workers of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan, former minister and TBGKS honorary president Koppula Eshwar highlighted the workers’ role in boosting SCCL’s earnings this year and argued that they merit a fair deal. He wanted the SCCL management to declare at least 35 per cent profit share for the coal workers in view of the approaching Dasara festival.
He pointed out that despite the Telangana government raising the profit-sharing ratio to 33% last year, workers received only 16% after deductions, resulting in an average loss of around Rs 1.8 lakh per employee.
He credited former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao with enhancing the share from a mere 16% to 32% during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime, describing it as a landmark achievement that benefited the workforce without arbitrary cuts.
“The coal workers are eagerly awaiting the announcement from the SCCL management,” Eshwar said, warning of ‘aggressive agitational programmes’, if the share was not announced soon. Eshwar sharply condemned recent statements by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka during an SCCL review meeting, labeling them an attempt to ‘mislead and demoralize’ the 40,000-strong workforce.
“Bhatti’s words are nothing but a ploy to divert attention from the real issues plaguing Singareni,” he said, stating that under the current Congress-led government, there was ‘deeper meddling’, including undue influence from ministers and MLAs, the CMD acting as a “puppet” of the party, and efforts to undermine dependent employment rules.
He demanded the immediate formation of a medical board to address workers’ health concerns and urged the government, recognized unions, and representative bodies to rebuild trust among employees, a workforce size he attributed solely to Chandrashekhar Rao’s policies, claiming it would have shrunk to 25,000 without BRS interventions.
Eshwar also lambasted unfulfilled Congress promises, such as reviving the Bayyaram steel factory, and accused both Congress and the BJP of colluding against Telangana’s interests.
“CM Revanth Reddy and PM Modi are entangled in a web of favoritism, while Coal India refuses to operate certain blocks but offers them to private players,” he charged.
He accused the Congress party of chronic indifference toward SCCL, particularly after it gained power at the Centre in 2004.
“Post-2004, Congress launched nationwide privatization efforts, auctioning off 1,400 coal blocks to favor corporate entities,” he alleged.
In contrast, he lauded the BRS government’s tenure, during which Chandrashekhar Rao had advocated for allocating all Telangana-based coal blocks exclusively to Singareni, revived dependent employment schemes, introduced ex-gratia payments, and steadily raised profit shares from 16% to 32%.
He further criticized the BJP-led central government’s post-2014 actions, where four coal blocks—Kalyanikhani Block-6, Koyagudem Block-3, Sattupalli Block-3, and Shravanapalli—were privatized despite opposition from TBGKS and KCR.
Eshwar claimed Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy and Bhatti participated in these auctions, questioning their sincerity. “The government’s intent to protect Singareni lacks sincerity,” he asserted, noting that while other public sector units secure allocations, SCCL has been marginalized.
He cited the Naini coal block in Odisha awarded to a state enterprise and SCCL’s own successes in securing copper and gold mines in Karnataka as evidence of double standards.
Eshwar warned that Singareni’s survival was in peril, and that it was on the brink of destruction due to these policies. He called for collective action to halt privatization attempts, echoing BRS leaders like KT Rama Rao, who has repeatedly said that the Congress and BJP were conspiring to dismantle the profitable PSU.
With SCCL contributing 9.2% to India’s domestic coal production and employing nearly 40,000 people across 40 mines in six Telangana districts, Eshwar emphasized its role as a vital employment and revenue generator.
