Singareni union issues strike notice against auction of coal blocks

HYDERABAD: The TRS-affiliated ‘Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangam’ (TBGKS) on Thursday served a strike notice protesting against the privatisation of coal blocks of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). “As per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 under section 22, sub-section (1) we are hereby giving this strike notice and we are going on strike on or after December 9,” TBGKS president B Venkat Rao said in the notice to SCCL chairman.

The TBGKS demanded the withdrawal of four blocks of SCCL — Kalyan Khani block-6, Koyagudem block-3, Sathupalli block-3 and Shravanapalli from the auction to be conducted by the Ministry of Coal. The union also demanded the enhancement of age from 35 years to 40 years for dependents of medically invalidated and deceased employees. 

Another of their demands is the correction of ‘alias names’ of workmen and their dependents for the purpose of providing dependent employment. The Corporate Medical Boards were not conducted for the last one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic, because of which some dependents’ age crossed 35 years when their parents were called for the medical board, hence they may be allowed for dependant employment, demands TBGKS. Recently, for the past year, the management is not providing dependent employment to medically unfit employees’ sons on the plea that their spouses are working in the government/PSUs, though such a clause is not mentioned in the circular issued by the management.