Coal strike may not have much impact on production, says Singareni Collieries

Singareni Collieries Company (SSCL), the state-run coal miner, said on Tuesday that coal production may not have much impact due to the strike by some trade unions.

According to a senior official of SCCL, coal production from the mines will be in the range of 1.5 lakh tonnes per day and despite 50 per cent of the workforce being on strike, the production will not be affected much as most of the mining is done in open cast.

"We expect 50 per cent workforce on duty today. We have deployed most of them in open cast mines to minimise the impact on production. We may lose around 10,000-15000 tonnes of coal production on account of the strike," the official told PTI.

Barring Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), other coal unions are working today (Tuesday) and the situation in terms of attendance is expected to improve on Wednesday, he said.

The trade unions on Tuesday began a five-day coal industry strike in protest against 'disinvestment and restructuring of state-run Coal India' and to press for their other demands, including the roll-back of what they call process of denationalising of coal sector.

Meanwhile, the Telangana unit of Communist Party of India (CPI), in a statement, alleged that the government was trying to foil the strike by arresting some trade union leaders.