ADILABAD: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has witnessed a significant rise in contract workers and machinery while experiencing a consistent decline in the number of regular workforce annually. The company was established in the northern districts of Telangana, particularly in erstwhile Adilabad district, spanning three divisions: Bellampally, Srirampur and Mandamarri.
During the Nizam rule and following its integration into the Indian union, Singareni had as many as 1.25 lakh workers, however, presently, the company has only 40,000.The company has turned to machinery and contract workers, yet the coal production has not been adversely affected. In fact, the machinery has helped raise coal production. Both the state and the central governments, along with trade unions, have contributed to reducing workforce, leading to allegations of neglecting welfare of the employees.
The recognised trade union leaders have failed in safeguarding the workers‘ welfare, while only a few unions have raised concerns but they have also seemed to ignore their pleas.After it was last conducted in 2017, the trade union elections faced delays thereafter. However, upon intervention by opposition-led trade union leaders approaching the high court, the elections are now scheduled for December 27 as per the court’s directive. The workers’ interest in these elections is notably low due to the perceived lack of commitment from unions and their leaders in addressing the welfare concerns of the workers, mainly regarding exemption from income tax.
The declining strength of the unions might impede future trade union elections, given the continuous decline in the number of workers. There are a total of 29 underground and 19 open-cast mines.Since the formation of Telangana, there has been a considerable decrease of as many as 22,000 workers in the company.