Dhanbad, Sept. 21: Trade union members from all over the country will meet in Calcutta to discuss the outsourcing of mines by coal companies.

One of the unions, the Bihar Colliery Kamgar Union (BCKU), has threatened to go on strike from September 25 to protest against the decision of the Coal India Limited management.

Trade union leader and former Dhanbad MP, A.K. Roy accused the CIL and its subsidiaries of violating Supreme Court’s verdict by outsourcing the coal mines to private parties, an allegation which the CIL instantly denies.

But the trade union has enough evidence to prove its point and has served a strike notice on the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) management in the Murlidih area.

“The Supreme Court judgement in connection with the strike by government employees of Tamil Nadu made the workers angry. The apex court passed a judgement against the disinvestment of petroleum companies. The judgement is important since it will be interpreted in context of the coal industry as well,” said Roy.

In its judgement, Supreme Court has made it clear that any law, which has come into existence through Parliament legislation, can only be amended with the approval of Parliament, he said.

“The Supreme Court has quoted the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act 1973. The judgement is clear and if the coal companies still go about outsourcing the coal mines to private parties, it would amount to violation of the court order. The BCCL is taking the help of private contractors in excavating coal,” he said.

The BCKU has already taken up cudgels in three areas of BCCL — Kalyan Chowk, Khas Kusunda and Murlidih — where the mines have been outsourced.

The union has already stalled work in these areas. However, the workers firmly said they “would not compromise” on the outsourcing issue.