From India News Network(INN)

New Delhi, November 23: CITU calls upon coal workers to protest against nefarious game plan of the government of India to commence the process of denationalization of coal mining through the promulgation of Ordinance containing enabling provision for allowing private sector in commercial mining of coal. CITU also calls upon the coal workers and their unions/federations irrespective of affiliations to organize “work stoppage” for two hours” in all the coal mines/establishments in the country on 24th November 2014 and hold massive militant demonstration to voice their determination not to allow handing over of the coal mines to private corporates, both domestic and foreign, for commercial mining.

CITU resents the manner the joint strike call in coal industry on 24th November 2014 has been postponed/deferred by some of the federations only on the basis of so called vague assurance of Joint Secretary of coal ministry on his effort to arrange meeting between the federations and the government, when the Ordinance initiating the process of aggressive denationalization of coal mining is already put in the track of implementation and the time of auctioning of coal blocks has been more or less finalized.

Similar assurance given to the federations on arranging meeting with minister by the CIL management and the bureaucracy only one and half month back did not materialize. In view of the Ordinance already put in implementation track, which, inter alia, grossly tampered and altered the basic provisions of Coal Nationalised Act 1973, the joint one day strike call of 24th November 2014 by four federations in coal industry was envisaged as a protest action, preparatory to higher struggle for resistance to the aggressive move for denationalization/ privatization of coal mining sector by the coal workers. There is no justification for withdrawal/postponement/deferment of said protest strike merely on the basis of assurance of meeting with government more so when such assurance has already been violated only a month back.

CITU led All India Coal Workers’ Federation has rightly opposed such postponement of strike and refused to endorse the conclusions of the meeting between the federations and the ministry officials held 22nd November 2014 at New Delhi. The AICWF while opposing such decision of withdrawal/postponement of strike decided to hold two hour work stoppage and massive demonstration in coal industry on the same day on 24th November 2014.

CITU calls upon the coal workers and their unions irrespective of affiliations to keep the continuity of the protest action on while observing work-stoppage for two hours and massive demonstration in all the coal mines and establishments on 24th November and prepare for united resistance struggle against the government move for denationalization of coal industry and privatization/disinvestment in the days to come.