Workers of CCL, a subsidiary of CIL, will benefit too

Ranchi, Sept. 22: Over 10,000 female workers of state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) engaged in non-productive and non-essential work may soon opt for voluntary retirement, paving the way for their dependants to bag employment in the PSU.

During a meeting with representatives of five central trade unions in Calcutta on Saturday, CIL chairman S. Narsing Rao in principle agreed to reinstate the scheme that was abolished in 2003.

The CIL chairman accepted a host of other demands, in a move that will largely benefit coal workers in Jharkhand.

After the “successful meeting”, the trade unions deferred their three-day strike, which was expected to begin tomorrow, till December end.

“We have been able to safeguard the interests of contract workers,” said Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) general secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh while speaking to The Telegraph today.

During the meeting, it was decided that CIL’s general physical disability clauses would be strictly executed while all other diseases of physical unfitness, which did not figure in the actual list, would be nullified. Certain unwritten conditions of physical unfitness have been in force since 1994.

Moreover, CIL management also agreed to reinstate all those workers, who were terminated because of discrepancies between service records and certificates regarding date of births and educational qualifications.

Further, contract workers will now be given industrial dearness allowance and fringe benefits effective since January 1 this year.

The CIL management also accepted the unions’ demand of doing away with differences in maternity and childcare benefits for executives and non-executives.

This apart, the company’s medical attendance rules will be amended to enable dependant parents of existing and former employees to avail treatment at CIL hospitals.

Also, the post-retirement medical benefit scheme for non-executives will be in tune with that for executives.

However, during deliberations, CIL executives said the coal major was facing a deficit of Rs 18,416 crore for running the coal mines pension scheme of 1998 and sought a prompt intervention by the Union coal ministry.

The trade unions are open for talks to find out ways to strengthen PSU’s financial health, but against any drastic steps.