The Hindu : Union election spurs Singareni workers into activity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Union election spurs Singareni workers into activity

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTHAGUDEM Feb. 18. With the representative union election round the corner, Singareni Collieries has become alive with activity. All the principal unions, which spearheaded the just-concluded general strike by the miners, are busy again with gate and pit-meetings as part of their campaign.

The Singareni Collieries Company Limited has completed the preliminary exercise for the election of the company-level and area-level representative unions. In all, 11 unions are expected to get into the fray. The election is likely to be held in the first week of April.

The management is toying with the idea of enhancing the tenure of the representative union from the present two years to four. The proposal has evoked mixed reaction from trade unions.

The Regional Labour Commissioner held a meeting with the representatives of the unions on this issue and recorded their opinions. Based on his report the Government will take a final decision on the matter.

The ATTACK, which has been the company level recognised union so far, favoured the four-year tenure, as did INTUC. The HMS and BMS sought a few changes in the industrial relations policy of the management while CITU disapproved of the extension.

The election notification is likely to be issued once the RLC is nominated as the returning officer. He will conduct two or three meetings with the trade unions before allotting the symbols and finalising the voter list. About 95,000 non-executive cadre workers of the company are likely to take part in the election.

However, unions loyal to the management have undermined the importance of the recognised unions. Though the Singareni Collieries Parirakhana Committee, floated by all the principal unions including the AITUC-affiliated Singareni Collieries Workers Union, sought to stall mining operations, more than 20 per cent of the workers attended their duties.

The company claims to have managed 86 per cent of regular production even during the strike. Some of the unions have been intensively campaigning against the strike-breakers while others targeted their criticism against the AITUC for the understanding it reached with the management at the end of the 17-day strike and the INTUC for supporting it.

Asked to choose between strike and work, the coal workers preferred the latter and a majority of them joined work the moment the protest was called off. They favoured an amicable end to the strike before forces that have a reputation for militancy took over.

The AITUC and the INTUC polled more than 20 per cent of the votes of the coal workers in the last elections held in February 2001.

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