HYDERABAD/ADILABAD: The management of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has decided to implement wages as per the recommendation of the 11th wage board.As per the order of the chairman and managing director of SCCL, N Sridhar, the company will complete the arrangements on a war footing and deposit the salaries on June 3 in the bank accounts of the workers. This can be termed as a sensational decision compared to the last ten wage board salary implementations. In the past, it used to take months for the salary to be revised and paid after the decision of the wage board. Moreover, it was implemented in Singareni only after the implementation of the same in Coal India Limited.
Because of the implementation of new salaries, the management of Singareni will have to bear an additional cost of about Rs 1000 crore rupees per year. However, director of finance and personnel, N Balaram, said that it has been decided to implement the new salaries immediately as per the wishes of workers and instructions of chairman and MD.
SCCL elections delayed
While the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the opposition perceive the trade union elections of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) as a crucial event, akin to a semifinal, with potential implications for the upcoming Assembly elections, it has been consistently delayed due to various reasons.
In a recent meeting, 15 trade union representatives, along with the management and the Deputy Labour Commissioner, deliberated on the matter. They decided to proceed with the elections as per the interim order issued by the Telangana High Court on March 23, 2023. The court directed the commencement of the election process from June 1, with a stipulation to complete it within three months. Consequently, the process is expected to be concluded by August.
The management expressed its preference for a four-year tenure, while some trade unions were in favour of a two-year term. This disagreement led both the trade unions and the management to approach the court for a resolution. The court granted a hearing in October, leading to a delay in the trade union elections.
Opposition leaders suspect that the BRS is intentionally stalling the trade union elections due to the potential impact on the Assembly elections.The SCCL trade union elections have been delayed since 2019. The TRS (now BRS)-affiliated trade union, Telangana Bogu Gani Karmika Sangam (TBGKS), held dominance in the region during the Telangana movement and after the formation of the Telangana.
The opposition trade union leaders have filed numerous complaints with the State and Central labour commissioners regarding the delayed elections, but have not received a satisfactory response. Ultimately, leaders of the All India Trade Union Congress approached the HC, which directed the management to conduct the elections.
The SCCL elections played a significant role in bolstering the BRS’ (then TRS) performance in the 2018 Assembly elections, as the TBGKS secured a majority in the 2017 trade union elections.