The Hindu Business Line : Further amendment to coal mines Act will be kept in abeyance: Mamata

FURTHER amendment of the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act will be kept in abeyance till a consensus on this issue is reached with the Central trade unions operating in the public sector mines, according to the Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Ms Mamata Banerjee.

Consequently, a Bill in this regard pending before Parliament since 2000, will not be pursued, she assured trade union leaders who met her at Coal India Ltd's (CIL) headquarters.

In another move, to satisfy about 5.27 unionised employees in CIL and its subsidiaries, Ms Banerjee has asked the seventh Joint Bi-partite Committee Coal Industry ( JBCCI-VII), an empowered body to recommend wage revision for employees in the coal industry, to announce 15 per cent interim relief on the existing basic pay in the coal industry with effect from January 2004, subject to adjustment of the same relief with the final recommendation of wages by JBCCI-VII.

In return, the union leaders are reported to have assured the Minister that they would co-operate with the management of all coal companies to augment production and dispatches. Senior executives of CIL, along with the Secretary of Coal in the Union Coal Ministry, Mr P.K.Mishra, were present while the Minister was interacting with the union leaders.

On the issue of " outsourcing" of jobs by the coal companies, Ms Banerjee said that she would initiate dialogues with the union leaders and respective Government of the coal bearing States to resolve problems that were affecting coal companies to outsource jobs.

Mr Banerjee did not hesitate to announce that no "uneconomic" coal mines would be closed. Moreover, no surplus workers in Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) , Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), Central Mine Planning & Design Institute, North Eastern Coalfields and Dankuni Coal Complex would be retrenched or would be forced to accept voluntary retirement scheme. She is reported to have assured the management of sick companies such as BCCL and ECL of all help to turn around their companies.

She was briefed by the coal companies on the possible impact of the reduction of import duty from 25 per cent to 15 per cent and abolition of 4 per cent special additional duty on non-coking coal. She said that her Ministry would take up the import duty reduction issue with the Ministry of Finance, provided such reduction affects domestic coal companies.