THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions, in a statement issued on June 18, has welcomed the joint decision by all the federations and unions of workers to go for three days countrywide strike from July 2-4, 2020 in all coal mines and establishments in the country demanding scrapping of the government decision to allow commercial mining of coal by private sector including foreign entities, separating CMPDIL from Coal India Ltd and the move to privatise public sector coal mining companies in the process. 

CITU has been voicing its vehement opposition to the destructive decision of the government of India to allow commercial mining of coal by private players including foreign entities. This is linked with the government decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in coal sector. Such retrograde decisions are aimed at completely reversing the nationalisation of coal mining in the national interest in the 1970s, to ensure energy security of the country. This will also pave the way for ultimate privatisation of public sector coal industry. The whole process of commercial mining of coal by private sector, including by foreign entities, is also aimed at gradually handing over the control and trading of this vital natural resource like coal, completely ignoring that it is essentially needed both by the country’s industrial network and the common consumers. This is going to have severe damaging impact on the self reliance of the country’s economy as well.

CITU congratulates the coal workers and their federations/unions for their determination to resist such destructive move of the government of India and extends all support to their joint decision for three-days strike action from July 2-4, 2020 in defence of the public sector coal industry and in defence of the self reliance of the country.  

CITU also calls upon the entire working class movement irrespective of affiliations to stand and act in support of the striking workers of the coal industry.