3-day strike by employees will hit production, CIL tells govt

The proposed three-day strike by employees of CIL from September 23 will have adverse impact on coal production amidst shortage of the fossil fuel in the country, the company has informed the central government.

"CIL (Coal India Ltd) has written to the Coal Ministry stating that the strike by the trade unions will affect the production of the dry fuel," a source close to the development said.

Five major trade unions representing workers of CIL had decided last month to go on a three-day strike from September 23 to protest proposed stake sale in the PSU.

CIL is meeting workers unions this week to persuade them from going ahead with their strike plan. The government at present holds 90 per cent stake in the company. The Disinvestment Department had pared the plan to sell 10 per cent stake in CIL to placate the unions.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier tried to assuage the workers unions, saying the disinvestment proceeds from the coal behemoth would be invested in PSU banks.

Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and SBI Capital Markets are among seven merchant bankers selected to manage the stake sale in CIL. The source said the Coal Ministry has conveyed to the Department of Disinvestment concerns expressed by CIL with regard production getting affected due to strike.

According to industry analysts, one-day strike may result in CIL losing more than 1 million tonnes of coal. CIL had produced 452.5 million tonnes (MT) of coal in the last fiscal.

CIL Chairman and Managing Director S Narsing Rao had said last week that the company will meet trade unions on September 11. There were a host of demands and some of them we could negotiated, while some are beyond the company, he said.

The government is also likely to clear by this week appointment of legal advisors to manage the disinvestment of 5 per cent stake in CIL.

CIL was listed on the bourses in 2010 after the government raised Rs 15,199 crore by selling 10 per cent stake in the country's biggest initial public offering. The company has a cash balance of around Rs 62,000 crore.