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Even as Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today reiterated that the government would go ahead with the 10% stake sale of Coal India, unions seemed to be hardening their stand to oppose the move.
After threatening an indefinite strike in their letter to the Prime Minister, all the workers' unions representing over 3,50,000 employees of Coal India, in a show of strength, have now called for a joint convention in Kolkata to register their protest.
"We have already said we will go for an indefinite strike if the government goes ahead with CIL stake sale plan. On June 24 all workers' unions will meet at a joint convention of all five unions, where the issue will be raised," Jibon Roy, general secretary, CITU-ffiliated All India Coal Workers Federation, said.
The four other unions, who have joined the protest, are Indian National Mine Workers' Federation (affiliated to INTUC), Indian Mine Workers' Federation (affiliated to AITUC) and Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation (affiliated to HMS).
The unions claimed there was assurance from former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the time of the Coal India public issue in 2010 that there would be no further stake sale from the government. "Also sometime in 2011, unions signed an agreement with the coal ministry on this. Coal is different from all other sectors. Government cannot do this with Coal India," said Roy.
In fact, they are also opposing the proposed restructuring of Coal India to make all the subsidiaries independent companies.
Commenting on the workers' opposition, Chidambaram said, "The coal ministry will talk to the trade unions to sort out issues."
"If I disinvest in Coal India and if its raises Rs 20,000 crore, the entire money will go into the public sector. I am not using the money for current expenditure. Therefore, my appeal to the Coal India union is that have no fear at all that we will use the money for other purposes. Whatever we are getting out of the disinvestment, we are putting it back to the PSU and PSBs," he said in New Delhi.
In fact, there has already been a round of meeting between CIL top officials and representatives of unions, but there has been no breakthrough so far. "We did meet the unions. They are still opposed to the stake sale plan. All unions have some political affiliations. Let us see, we will probably meet again," CIL chairman S Narsing Rao told Business Standard.
CIL officials indicated it would be diffuicult to break the deadlock, unless there is consensus at the political level. "But ahead of the general elections, it is going to be a difficult task," one official said.
Incidentally, the government today kickstarted the disinvestment in the current fiscal by divesting a 9.33% stake in state-owned trading firm MMTC. However, to meet the Rs 40,000-crore disinvestment target for the fiscal, government is banking on CIL stake sale that alone is expected to generate more than half the target.
