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From India News Network (INN) On Coal sector privatisation……….. Reiterates joint strike call on December 3 – 5, 2001 New Delhi, November 29: Few days left for the countrywide three day strike by the coal workers on December 3-5 2001 at the joint call of AITUC, BMS, CITU and HMS unions and the obnoxious misinformation campaign has been launched by the government and the Coal India management to create confusion and mislead the workers. One of the major demands of the striking workers is the withdrawal of the Coal India (Amendment) Bill already introduced in Parliament in order to allow privatisation in the coal mining sector. But many national dailies (Business Line etc) dated 29th November carried news quoting the government sources that as if the said bill has been shelved. But just a day before, the minister of state for Coal & Mines has stated in the CII Convention at Bangalore that the bill is very much before the parliament and the minister also announced that 127 virgin blocks of coal reserve out of total 250 will be handed over to private sector (The Hindu, 29-11.01). The CITU strongly denounces such misinformation campaign by the government machinery which stood contradicted by its own minister thus exposing its evil design. CITU also records its vehement protest to announce privatisation of coal sectors even before the bill is enacted taking Parliament for granted. The CITU reiterate that the entry of private and foreign players in the coal-mining sector will be disastrous for country’s coal resources as well as for the people as a whole. All talks of generating competition and Coal India’s inability to meet the domestic demand for coal are all baseless. Domestically produced coal is getting piled at the pit heads while millions of tons are being imported every year owing to suicidal policy of the government of India in respect of Coal sector leading to severe financial stress on the public sector coal industry pushing a part of it towards sickness. The coal workers are going in for strike action demanding reversal of such anti-national policies of government of India. All the four central trade unions viz. AITUC, CITU, HMS and BMS have also made it clear that if the government does not retrace its move for privatisation, the coal workers will resort to indefinite strike action in the days to come. The CITU calls upon the coal workers all over the country irrespective of affiliations not to get confused and misled by the deliberate misinformation campaign by the government and the Coal India management and make the three day countrywide strike in coal industry on December 3-5 called by the AITUC, CITU, HMS and BMS unions in the country a total success and prepare for indefinite action as well. eom |
