Coal India executives threaten to hold strike over pay conflict

The association demanded that executive employees must be compensated by allowing pay-protection through personal pay package to them so that their salary does not fall below the wage of workers.

A body of executives of Coal India Ltd on Sunday threatened to go on a strike unless their pay conflict with non-executive employees is addressed. The Coal Ministry has said it approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for non-executive employees of the miner.

All India Association of Coal Executives (AIACE), in a letter, to the Coal India chairman said that the new wage agreement for non-executive employees will result in a pay conflict with executives. The association demanded that executive employees must be compensated by allowing pay-protection through personal pay package to them so that their salary does not fall below the wage of workers.

"We have requested Coal India to initiate appropriate needful actions immediately to provide personal pay (PP) to executives and eliminate the conflict latest by September 30, 2023. Otherwise, executives may be compelled to resort to agitation including strike, if needed afterwards," AIACE general secretary P K Singh Rathor said.

The Coal Ministry had approved a wage revision agreement that was reached with trade unions for "non-executive" employees of Coal India Ltd. In a communication to Coal India on June 22, the ministry said, "The MoA (memorandum of agreement) for NCWA-XI as signed by Coal India Ltd, Singareni Collieries Company Limited and trade union representatives, has been confirmed."

The agreement provides for a 19 percent of minimum guaranteed benefit from July 1, 2021, on emoluments - basic, variable dearness allowance, special dearness allowance and attendance bonus besides a 25 percent increase in allowances. The agreement will benefit around 2.81 lakh non-executive employees of CIL and SCCL, who were on the rolls of the company as on July 1, 2021.

CIL has made a provision of Rs 9,252.24 crore for a period of 21 months effective from July 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023, for this effect. The company's net profit declined 18 percent to Rs 5,528 crore in the fourth quarter of FY 2023 due to increased provisions towards wages.