Kolkata: Five federations representing over half million workers of Coal India Ltd, along with Singareni Collieries Company Ltd and state-owned coal firms, have called for a strike September 24, seeking withdrawal of the Centre’s decision to allow 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
In a fresh round of FDI reforms, the Union government has allowed 100 per cent FDI in coal mining and contract manufacturing, as part of its efforts to boost economic growth.
Major central trade unions, including INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS and AICCTU, are supporting the strike. “Except Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh (BMS) under the BJP, all trade unions have joined the strike call September 24,” D D Ramanandan, the general secretary of All India Coal Workers Federation, told this agency Friday.
In a notice to the Centre, the federations have also demanded that CIL subsidiaries, including Eastern Coalfields Ltd, Central Coalfields Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, be merged with the parent firm.
The trade unions have also threatened to go on an indefinite strike if their demands are not met with.
PTI