Coal industry unions have deferred a one-day strike scheduled on August 18. The strike was called against the government decision to open up the sector for commercial coal mining by private players.
Five central trade unions — BMS, HMS, AITUC, CITU and INTUC — last month declared their decision to go on a one-day strike against issues such as commercial coal mining, disinvestment of Coal India and the wages of contract workers.
However, a deferment of the auction process has now prompted the unions to call off the strike for the time being.
The auction of blocks earmarked for commercial mining will now take place between October 19, 2020 and November 9, 2020.
Difficulties in site visits by prospective bidders because of the lockdown and the need to review the initial list of 41 coal blocks after objections were raised over ecological concerns have led to a delay.
“The auction dates have been deferred by the government. So, the strike has also been deferred,” said D.D. Ramandan of the CITU-affiliated All India Coal Workers Federation.
“A date has not been fixed yet. The unions will meet in October and take a further call on the strike,” said Nathulal Pandey of HMS.
Informally, it has been discussed among the unions that a protest could happen between November 5 and November 9 ahead of the nominated authority of the Centre recommending the successful bidders on November 11, 2020.
