Nagpur: New from the crisis of coal deficiency, Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and other mining PSU under Indian Coal Limited (CIL) are now threatened by contractors in unlimited attacks.
The contractor is involved in excavating overburden, which means cleaning the earth until coal is beaten.
They claim that a steep increase with diesel prices makes it no longer feasible to continue work under the terms and conditions of the tender.
Strikes that might be expected to take great casualties on coal production.
The association employs the equipment contractor has served a notification at the office of the Director of the Chairperson of the Cum-Managing WCL which signaled a plan to strike from November 1, if the demands were not fulfilled.
Sources in associations say similar notifications have also been sent to other CIL subsidiaries.
According to tender conditions, the escalation clause includes a 30% increase in diesel prices during the entertainment period, the contractor said.
However, the diesel level has risen more than 70% in a year now, eating to their margins.
The problem is worse in WCL because of the high stripping ratio compared to other cil arms.
In other words, more earth must be extracted to achieve coal deposits in mines in Central India.
Explaining arithmetic, a source said now because the diesel level has passed RS100 per liter, the contractor burns fuel worth RS50 to eliminate a cubic meter of the earth.
Like this, they only get RS28.68.
According to calculations installed by the association, contractors lost as much as RS2.13 Crore in a day due to the increase in diesel prices.
Contractor meetings have been planned on October 25, where further strike planning will be discussed.
The meeting with WCL management has also been planned on the same day.
“If there are no concessions, we will definitely move on strike,” said a contractor.
The contractor said that as many as 80% of the convention of overburden was carried out by the private sector, whose equipment was employed by the coal PSU.
This is the basic process in mining coal.
Because of the geological conditions in Vidarbha, the stripping ratio is rather high.
As many as 10 cubic meters of the earth must be released to get one cubic meter of coal, they show.
“Payment terms are too difficult.
Half of the contributions removed when all overburden quantities are removed, finally touching the coal layer.
In WCL, the process takes longer due to a high stripping ratio,” explained a contractor.
A senior official in WCL confirmed that notifications received from the Contractor and Management Associations must discuss this issue with them.
Their demands are not entirely wrong given the current situation, the source said.
Transporter gets a 19% increase in goods after stirring the transporter strike against cement companies for similar reasons finally succeeding.
The truck driver has stopped lifting material from a cement plant located in Chandrapur because it demands an increase in goods.
“Finally on Wednesday, the industry was agreed upon and a 19% increase was permitted,” said Kuku Marwah, President of the Unity of Nagpur Truckers, a Transporter Association.
“It is impossible for us to operate if the item is not hiking,” he said.