State-owned Coal India expects to conclude wage agreement within a month

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Wednesday said it is expecting to conclude the wage agreement (NCWA-XI) within a month, which would benefit its 2.38 lakh strong non-executive workers.

Wages of the non-executive workers, which account for 94 per cent of Coal India's workforce, are revised every five years. The hike is due from July 2021. In 2017, CIL signed a wage agreement with worker unions proposing a 20 per cent hike in salaries for five years.

In a statement, CIL said, "It is hoping to conclude the eleventh version of the national coal wage agreement (NCWA-XI), within a month, benefitting its 2.38 lakh strong non-executive manpower. The next round of talks is scheduled on May 19, 2023."

The company further said that the proposal has had a "telling effect" on its profit after tax (PAT) in the fourth quarter of FY23 and excluding the provision on wage cost due to NCWA-XI, the company's PAT during January-March FY23 would have been around Rs 9,920 crores, an all-time high for any quarter till date.

On May 7, the world's largest coal miner reported a 17.7 per cent drop in its March quarter net profit on higher provisions made for wage revision of employees.

Consolidated net profit was at Rs 5,527.62 crore, or Rs 8.98 per share, in January-March compared with Rs 6,715 crore, or Rs 10.86 a share earning in the same period a year back, according to the company's filing with stock exchanges.

"Although the operational performance was at an all-time high in the last quarter of FY'23 the major reason for consolidated PAT taking a dip was the humongous Rs. 5,870 crore provision made in the quarter ended March 31, FY23.

"Of the total provision of Rs 8,153 crores charged to profit & loss account on account of wage revision during FY23, the last quarter alone took up 72 per cent at Rs 5,870 crores," the company said.

Such a high provision was necessitated during the quarter because the company had inked a memorandum of understanding under the wage pact recommending 19 per cent minimum guaranteed benefit after Q3 FY23, the company said.

With only other allowances yet to be agreed upon, shaking hands on the NCWA-XI between the company's management and the unions at the earliest would ease the pressure. The company's bottom line in the ensuing quarters would be steady with no provisions required in the accounts.