The Centre of Indian Trade Unions congratulates 5.3 lakh coal workers for their total strike action in all the collieries and establishments of the country on the 2nd July 2020—on the first day of the three days strike call on 2-4 July 2020, given by the joint platform of all the unions and federations of the coal workers in the country.
Three days Strike call was given to combat the destructive move of the Govt at the centre to privatise the country’s coal industry and promote commercial mining and trading of coal by private sector including foreign entities, it being disastrous for the country’s energy security and productive operation of the country’s industrial economy as a whole. The all in united strike-struggle by the workers is not for their own demands but for defending the vital interest of the national economy, its coal resources and the public sector coal industry. And in this strike action, both the regular workers and also contract workers of the industry have participated enmasse.
In all the subsidiary companies under Coal India Ltd viz., Eastern Coalfields Ltd(ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL), Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), North Eastern Coalfields Ltd (NECL) and CMPDIL and also in Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) strike was near total. In ECL, strike witnessed participation of above 90 per cent workers owing to opposition of state govt sponsored TMC affiliated hoodlums with the support of local police. Many striking workers, leaders and activities were manhandled and arrested. Yet the strike cannot be broken owing to determination of the workers enmasse. In the other companies and establishments throughout the country, there was hundred per cent strike.
Coal workers massive strike is the first ever countrywide sectoral strike action during the lockdown period determined to defy and resist the dubious move of the Govt to push through its wholesale privatization project of putting the national assets and PSUs on the auction in favour of handful of private corporate, both foreign and domestic. And this has, no doubt shown the way to the trade union movement as a whole and particularly in those sectors where privatization is being attempted by the Modi Govt on how to combat and resist such destructive exercise, in the interest of the workers, people and the nation.
Strike by coal workers will continue on 3rd and 4th July as well and the joint platform of federations and unions would be planning their further action to defeat this destructive game-plan of privatization and they can definitely do so.
CITU again congratulates the coal workers and their joint platform of unions and federations for the successful strike action to continue for two more days.
Issued by
(Tapan Sen )
General Secretary