New Delhi: Production has resumed at various mines of state-owned Coal India Ltd after the nationwide strike by coal workers was called off last night. According to company officials, production at the country's largest coal producer was in ‘full swing’ at the first shift on Thursday. "We are still collating data but yes, production has resumed at our mines," an official said, adding that workers reported for work from the third shift last night as soon as the strike was called off. "We will gear up resources to make up for the deficit during the two-day shut down. We are confident that our production target of 507 million tonnes for this fiscal will be achieved," the official said.
Nearly five lakh coal workers had gone on a strike on Tuesday after five major trade unions, including BJP-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, gave a call for the biggest ever industrial action in four decades against what they called the attempts for "disinvestment in Coal India and denationalisation of coal mining".
Coal workers had last night called off their nationwide strike after two days, as Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal assured trade unions that the state-run CIL will not be privatised and the employees' interest will be protected.
The minister had also sated that the government would look into the concerns of workers and would form a committee, headed by a Joint Secretary, that will have representation from all five trade unions and officials of CIL and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. CIL accounts for 80 per cent of the total coal produced in the country. It had, however, missed its output target of 482 million tonnes (MT) in the last fiscal and produced 462 MT.
