Alavandar Venu Madhav, Deputy General secretary, Singareni Retired Employees Welfare Association, Hyderabad
Coal India Limited and Singareni Colleries Company Limited are the public sector companies producing coal in the country. In Singareni, the state government has 51% share and the central government has 49% share. As the officers and workers working in the Singareni company work together with unity, the company achieves the production targets and makes significant profits.
According to the “Gratuity Payment Act 1972”, implemented by the Government of India, a gratuity of 20 lakh rupees is to be paid to the government employees and public sector workers in recognition of their service in the organizations. This gratuity payment is 15 days for every year of service for 30 years of service. 30 days basic and drought allowance are being paid to those who have passed 30 years of service every year. But Singareni and Coal India is paying gratuity ceiling of 20 lakh rupees to executives from 1-1-2017, the implementation date of their pay revision. As per the Tenth National Coal Wage Agreement, the coal miners have been paid increased wages with effect from 1-7-2016 for a period of five years.
Presently the 11th Wage Agreement is implemented from 1-7-2021. But the gratuity ceiling was implemented on 29-3-2018 as per the directives of the central government.
Gratuity ceiling of 10 lakh rupees was implemented for those workers who retired from 1-1-2017 to 29-3-2018, causing severe financial loss to about six thousand workers in Singareni. These retired coal mine workers have suffered financial loss for the last six years. Various officials, political leaders and labour union leaders are informing through various media that the gratuity ceiling of 20 lakh rupees should be implemented from the same date without any difference to the officials and workers .
Last March, a worker of Coal India subsidiary company, Western Coalfield limited, named Immadi Mogili, who had worked in Western Coalfield Limited, applied to the Assistant Labour Commissioner of Chandrapur in Maharashtra to implement the 20 lakh rupees gratuity ceiling, and the Assistant Labor Commissioner ordered Western Coalfield Limited to implement the 20 lakh rupees gratuity and pay the arrears.
The retired workers of Singareni who retired between 1-1-2017 to 29-3-2018 are also applying to the Central Labor Commissioner’s office and courts to get Chandrapur Labor Commissioner’s order implemented. Therefore, Singareni Collieries company, which is making high profits, should pay the arrears of workers who have lost gratuity of 20 lakh rupees. Central government orders should also be amended and justice should be given to the retired coal mine workers.
