New Delhi: To protest against the proposed stake sale in Coal India, its five major trade unions will support the September 2 nationwide strike call, on labour issues, called by all 11 central trade unions of the country.
"All operating 5 CTUs (INTUC, BMS, AITUC, HMS, CITU), through Joint Action Committee, geared up for the one-day nationwide strike call given by all 11 central trade unions of India on their 12-point charter of demands," Rashtriya Koyla Khadan Mazdoor Sangh said in a statement.
"The operating trade unions in coal industry and common coal workers are against further 10 percent disinvestment in Coal India Ltd," it said in another statement.
The main demands before the government includes stopping "disinvestment of state/central government/public sector undertakings," and giving pension guarantee to all workers, among others.
Major trade unions of Coal India had earlier opposed any government proposal for 10 percent stake sale in the PSU and had said that they will soon chalk out a strategy to take their protest forward.
"It would be a difficult proposition for CIL workers and operating CTUs (central trade unions) to cooperate with CIL if the government insists on or proceeds with any further disinvestment in CIL," Indian National Mine Workers' Federation Secretary General S Q Zama had told PTI.
"All the unions functioning in the coal sector are opposing the proposed disinvestment of Coal India," D D Ramanandan, Vice-President of the All India Coal Workers Federation, one of five unions at the company, had earlier said.
He had added that "the real intention of the government is to privatise the coal sector. So, we are opposing it".
In a letter to Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, INTUC had said CTUs are convinced that repeated disinvestment in CIL, which will be now around 30 percent of the total stake, dilutes the public sector character of the central PSU.
The government will sell 10 percent stake in Coal India through a public offer, which could fetch over Rs 20,000 crore to the exchequer.
Central trade unions have called for strike on September 2 to protest against the government's proposed labour reforms.
