THE two-day coal workers’ strike on January 6-7 was total and joined by seven lakh permanent and contract workers of public sector Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) in 40 coal-bearing districts of the country. The strike brought mining, loading and unloading, transportation and other related works to a grinding halt from the very first shift on January 6 and had an effect on lakhs of other workers engaged in outsourced activities. The corporate media, both print and electronic, started ringing the alarm bell seeing the success of the strike. Reports, articles and editorials of the corporate media started a massive campaign sending signals to the government not to yield to the coal workers’ demands, particularly the demand for cancellation of the provisions in the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, allowing commercial mining by private companies. Four coal workers’ federations affiliated to INTUC, BMS, AITUC and HMS jointly and All India Coal Workers Federation (AICWF) of CITU separately served five days’ strike notice from January 6 to 10. Besides, AICWF served its independent strike notice for January 13 to keep the strike option open in the background of earlier experiences. As the successful united strike began on January 6, AICWF withdrew its separate strike notice for January 13. Earlier, when joint agitation and strike notices were withdrawn by other federations twice, once in September and later in November, CITU did not become party to such withdrawals. CPI(M) Polit Bureau, in its meeting on December 21-23, condemned the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which aims to “reverse the nationalisation of the coal industry” to facilitate profiteering and loot of this precious national resource by the big capital. On January 7, the Polit Bureau again issued a statement congratulating and greeting the coal workers for total unity and successful strike, and fully supporting the demand for withdrawal of the coal mines ordinance. CITU congratulated the coal workers for the total unity and success of the strike. Prior to the strike, after a meeting at BMS office in New Delhi on 26 December, a joint statement was issued by all central trade unions, unanimously deploring the decision of the Government of India to promulgate ordinances for de-nationalisation and privatisation of coal mining. The unions said such move is highly detrimental to national interest, besides being totally undemocratic. The coal workers federations had refused to participate in discussions called by the government before the strike commenced on January 6. After the strike began, the federations again refused to participate in discussions with the coal ministry’s joint secretary level officials. Ultimately, on January 7 evening, discussions started with Union Minister for Coal Piyush Goyal. Immediately after the meeting, four coal workers federations of BMS, INTUC, HMS and AITUC called off the ongoing strike. They also signed the minutes of the meeting. The CITU-affiliated federation refused to become a party to the decisions and hence, did not sign the minutes. Upholding the coal workers’ total unity and two days’ total strike and expressing its commitment to preserving unity for struggle, CITU in a statement stated that withdrawal of the strike by other federations were “unfortunate. The operative part of the minute states that, (i) a committee would be formed with the members from five coal unions, CIL and SCCL and the joint secretary of the coal ministry would be its chairman; the committee would hold detailed discussion on the demands as incorporated in the strike notice; and the committee would send its recommendations to the government shortly; (ii) in the light of the coal minister’s explanation in the meeting and statement in Lok Sabha all five trade union organisations decided to call off the strike (which is not correct as CITU union did not agree to the decision); and (iii) the trade union organisations also assured to compensate the loss in production during the strike. What was the explanation given by the minister in the meeting on the basis of which the strike was called off? The same old misleading statements, distortion of facts and sidelining of the main issues. He said that the main purpose of the coal ordinance was job protection of the workers; reduce burden on the country due to heavy coal imports and CIL’s failure to increase production; for transparency in coal block allocation and to remove the uncertainty created by the Supreme Court’s order; help in job creation, save foreign exchange and reducing bank NPAs, and boost power, cement and steel production helping infrastructural development and advance the ‘Make in India’ programme of the Modi government. He also stated that CIL will not be de-nationalised, the coal bearing states will be benefited through this e-auction, and that workers’ quarters will be repaired and ‘high class’ latrines will be constructed for them. The minutes also recorded the strike demands: Opposing the provision of commercial mining through the Coal Ordinance and Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill; against disinvestment and restructuring of CIL and for returning de-allocated coal blocks to CIL. There was not a single word by the minister on these main demands. Coal workers did not go on strike for construction of ‘high class’ latrines! De-nationalisation does not mean privatisation of CIL, but de-nationalisation of coal industry. Section 28 of the Coal Ordinance, now converted into a Bill, reads as, “On and from the date of commencement of this Ordinance, the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 shall stand amended in the manner provided in Schedule IV.” And the Schedule IV of the Ordinance says that the private companies “may carry on coal mining operations in India, in any form either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose in accordance with the permit, prospecting licence or mining lease, as the case may be.” Yet the minister says that there was no attempt of de-nationalisation of coal industry. This is the core issue against which the coal workers had gone on strike i.e. withdrawal of the provision in section 28 of the Ordinance and, as incorporated in the Bill, allowing private companies to “carry on coal mining operations in India, in any form either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose”. The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was amended in 1993 allowing coal mining by private companies for captive consumption in power, steel and cement plants. The allocation of coal blocks to private companies for captive consumption in specified industries has shown the root cause of massive coal scam precisely against which the Supreme Court issued orders in August and September, 2014 de-allocating all the coal blocks since 1993. Instead of taking corrective steps from this experience, the Modi government has now gone further to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 by incorporating provision in the Ordinance and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 allowing private companies to “carry on coal mining operations in India, in any form either for own consumption, sale or for any other purpose”, thereby completely deleting the core provision of the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973. This proposed amendment has nothing to do with the allocation of de-allocated coal blocks, which were allocated through 1993 amended provision of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act and which were de-allocated by the Supreme Court’s orders. This provision in the Ordinance immediately benefited Reliance Power Limited (RPL) of Ambanis by legalising the RPL’s coal scam. As stated in CAG report, “To conclude, the post-bid concessions extended to RPL in Sasan UMPP resulted in financial benefit to RPL to the tune of Rs 29,033 crore with a net present value of Rs 11,852 crore.” The other related core demand of the coal workers strike was for reverting back all these de-allocated coal mines to CIL and, thereby, reversing the process of allocation of coal blocks for captive use in specific industries which led to massive coal scam in the country. The strike was also against the proposed disintegration of CIL and for keeping it as a single entity. For disintegration of CIL, earlier the UPA government appointed American consultancy firm Deloitte which had already submitted its report to the government. CIL was created, consequent to the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, as the sole public sector enterprise for coal mining and supply of coal in the country. As long CIL remains as a single entity, it will always remain a hurdle for the government to give commercial coal mining to the private companies. Hence, the government is attempting for fragmentation of CIL into several independent entities of its present subsidiaries. The other core demand of the coal workers strike was against the Modi government’s attempt for further 10 percent disinvestment of CIL which the earlier UPA government also tried but backed out due to united opposition from coal workers. The Modi government is desperate to mop up about Rs 23,000 crore through immediate disinvestment of CIL to meet budget deficit and also for its backdoor privatisation. Therefore, a lot of misleading propaganda is being made against CIL and its alleged failure to meet the current demand. In an earlier article on these columns, CITU general secretary Tapan Sen has already and adequately refuted the misleading campaign by the corporate media and the government against the failure of CIL. Coal workers resorted to protests in different parts of the country on January 8 protesting against the Bill and withdrawal of the magnificent strike.