TALCHER: To break the impasse in ceasework strike by about 10,000 contractual workers in Talcher coalfields since Tuesday, collector Sidhartha Shankar Swain conducted a meeting with the union leaders and MCL director, personnel, Keshav Rao on Wednesday.
Due to the strike over a six-point charter of demands including hike in wages, access to MCL hospital and other issues, coal production and dispatch have been affected. The workers under the banner of Mahanadi Workers’ Union began the strike on Tuesday.
“The meeting has failed as MCL authorities could not address our issues. We will continue the strike till an indefinite period till our genuine demands are met. We demand hike in wages and medical facilities among other issues,” said Union president Narahari Sahoo.
He said, in real terms, contractual workers produce coal and dispatch in all the eight coal mines in Talcher coalfield. But the coal company gives us a raw deal in terms of wages, allowances and bonus among other things.
Talcher coalfields which produces around three lakh tonne of coal per day recorded nil production since two days due to the strike. There was also no coal supply either by road or rail to the consumers of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited for last two days, sources stated. Repeated attempts to contact MCL authorities failed as they did not respond.