New Delhi: The two-day old strike by coal workers across India was called off on Wednesday with the government and the unions reaching an agreement after a marathon meeting. “The strike has been called off,” AITUC leader Lakhan Lal Mahato said after a meeting with coal minister Piyush Goyal that lasted for over six hours.
The calling off of the strike midway will bring relief to the power sector that has faced prospect of fuel supplies drying up due to closure of half of the country’s coal mines during the strike.Mr Mahato, however, did not share the details of the terms and conditions of the agreement reached between the government and the unions.
Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation (Intuc) president Rajendra Singh also confirmed that the strike has been called off and an agreement with the government is being signed. It is estimated that 290 out of 438 CIL coal mines are being hit by the strike.
“The joint call for a strike by five trade unions at Coal India mines has brought the entire economy to a grinding halt as the country lost production of over one million tones of coal worth about '200 crore per day,” industry body Assocham said in a statement.
