The Hindu : Singareni allays workers' fears

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Singareni allays workers' fears

By Our Special Correspondent

Hyderabad Jan. 8. After reviewing the situation arising from of the strike move by workers here today, the Singareni Collieries management made a couple of offers for allaying privatisation fears among workers, including reduction of the "contractisation'' period of the Surface Miner at Koyagudem opencast mine in Khammam district to 15 months from the present 21 months.

Also, a negotiation team was constituted for putting the management's viewpoint at the talks being arranged by the Regional Labour Commissioner, Central, here on January 20, with GMs for corporate planning, personnel, finance and industrial engineering, D. L. R. prasad, M. Gangi Reddy, K. V. Kondaiah Sastry, and S. Sudharshan Reddy, and two deputy GMs for industrial relations and electrical & mechanical, Y. Venkateswarlu and P. B. Rayanna.

Meeting the press later, the directors, GMs and Deputy GMs, led by the one in charge of personnel, administration and welfare, G. S. G. Ayyangar, renewed the management's appeal to workers to defer the strike move, especially in the light of the crucial stage through which the Collieries was passing after wiping out accumulated losses. They, however, said they would hold talks only with representatives of the recognised union.

The directors present included P. Vasudeva Rao (Operations), K. Jagannatha Rao (Finance), K. Ramakrishna (Electrical and Mechanical), and G. M. Sarma (Planning and Projects).

The officials contended that the unions had proposed strike in view of the need for them to be in focus due to the coming elections taking place in February for identifying the recognised one among them. Otherwise, hey said, "there is absolutely no issue at all.'' They said it was unfortunate that unions thought of the strike at a time when there was need to produce more. After a long time, the company was ending the financial year with a tentative profit of Rs. 400 crores but it would need to plough back a part of that towards the Rs. 2,113-crore investment planned for the 10th Plan period for opening more mines and thus sustaining itself in the market.

Allaying workers' fears, Mr Ayyangar said the Koyagudem opencast mine was not privatised as apprehended but the surface miner was taken on a contract basis with the sum payable to private party per month being Rs 45 lakhs. The contract period could be reduced to 15 months if the private party, the Delhi-based Global Mining, completed the contracted volume of business within that period. They said, "Even now, entire mining operation, loading and supervision is ours.'' About 20 Singareni employees were deployed at the mine and drivers were being trained for manning the surface miner not only at Koyagudem but also at other places where the company was planning to introduce them depending on the Koyagudem results.

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