NCL workers ignore court order, down tools
KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – More than 17 000 permanent and contract workers at India’s Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) downed tools in an indefinite strike on Thursday to protest the government’s disinvestment of 5% equity in the mining and power generation company to private investors.
Some 16 trade unions representing NLC employees went on strike despite a court order issued on Wednesday evening restraining the unions from going ahead with the protest.
A spokesperson for one of the trade unions leading the strike said that the federal government had failed to give a commitment to scrap the disinvestment decision by the unions’ 19:00 deadline on Wednesday.
Operations at NLC’s mines and power plants were not affected immediately by the strike as officers were operating the facilities. NLC chairperson B Surender Mohan said in a statement that “all officers had joined work and we are able to manage production as usual. Around 2 300 to 2 400 MW generation was possible.”
However an official conceded that major disruptions could not be ruled out if the strike dragged on. Officers could man and operate the power plants, but lignite production at the mines could not be maintained without the workers.
Last week, the provincial government of Tamil Nadu in southern India, where NLC was headquartered, proposed to buy the 5% equity being offered to private investors if disinvestments plans were to be abandoned. The provincial government was supporting the trade unions in their strike to scuttle the disinvestment.
NLC, which operates predominantly in southern India, has three lignite reserves – Mine I, Mine IA and Mine II, which produce 10.5-million, 3-million and 10.5-million tons of lignite respectively. The company also operates three lignite-based power plants generating capacities of 600 MW, 1 470 MW and 420 MW, respectively.
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