Fundamentals of Industrial Relations Project Report

Study on Industrial Relations at Eastern Coalfields Limited, Mugma Area, Dhanbad

By: Akanksha Singhal P10005 Chitralekha Singh P10019 Harsh Seth P10025 Maneesh Dhooper P10030 Varnika Gupta P10059

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would want to express our gratitude towards our alma mater XLRI Jamshedpur

for giving us this opportunity to pursue the course “Fundamentals of Industrial

Relations” under Prof.Pranabesh Ray, who is one of the stalwarts of this field. We

would also like to thank Prof Ray for making this project extremely thought

provoking and innovative. It helped us look at industrial relations from a practical

perspective.

Lastly, our heartiest thanks to managers, workers and trade union leaders who agreed

to give us their valuable insights into dynamics of industrial relations to the minutest

of detail. We are indebted to them for having taken time out from their extremely

busy schedules to help us in every way possible.

By:

Akanksha Singhal….P10005

Chitralekha Singh….P10019

Harsh Seth………….P10025

Maneesh Dhooper….P10030

Varnika Gupta….….P10059

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………..1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...3

Methodology………………………………………………………………….4 Eastern Coal Fields Limited, Mugma area, Overview………………………..6 Trade union’s perspective…………………………………………………….8 Worker’s perspective…………………………………………………………14 Management’s perspective…………………………………………………...17 Labour Commissioner’s take…………………………………………………..21 Key Take-aways from project………………………………………………..24

Relations between workers and management………………………….. Inter trade unions’ relations……………………………………………. Relations between workers and trade unions………………………....... Relations between management and trade unions……………………… Collective bargaining……………………………………………..……... Implications of being a PSU including A comparative study between Tata coal mines and ECL mines…………………………………….................

Suggestions and Conclusions………………………………………………….32 References……………………………………………………………………..34 Appendix I …………………………………………………………………….35

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Introduction This project aims at understanding various aspects of Industrial Relations at Eastern

Coalfields Limited (ECL), Mugma area of Jharkhand.

Eastern Coalfields Limited is a Government of India undertaking and is subsidiary of

Coal India Limited. The company is situated in two states – West Bengal and

Jharkhand. The total number of mines operated by ECL is 105, out of which 88 are

underground, while 17 are open cast. The total existing manpower at the company is

85,617 (as on 1.4.2010).

As a part of this project, the data from the field of Industrial Relations was collected

and was analysed with respect to the learning in the classroom on the subject of

‘Fundamentals of Industrial Relations’. On the basis of the collected data, the key

focus points were identified. These points were explored further from different

perspectives through interaction with the various parties involved in the process.

These parties were the management, the workers, the trade union leaders and the

government.

The main emphasis of the study is on experiencing the learning first hand and getting

a practical insight into Industrial Relations.

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Methodology

The project has been divided into 3 phases –

1. Questionnaire

2. Telephonic Conversations

3. Face to face interaction

In each phase, one or more of the concerned parties was contacted. The concerned

parties contacted were the management, workers, trade union leaders and the

government. The workers and Trade Union Leaders together form a part of the Trade

Unions.

Figure 1 – Methodology: Different phases and parties contacted

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Phase 1 - Questionnaire

The main purpose of the first phase was to collect factual data about the company.

The Personnel Manager of ECL, Mugma Area, was contacted for this purpose. A

questionnaire was floated. The information covered in the questionnaire belonged to

number and type of workers, number and type of mines, trade unions and affiliations

etc. The data hence collected formed the basis of the further research.

After the factual data was collected, another questionnaire was floated, which asked

for contacts of Trade Union leaders, Assistant Labour Commissioner and workers.

Phase 2 – Telephonic Conversation

After collecting the data in Phase 1, some key issues were identified. Some more

issues were identified based on classroom discussions. Next, a set of questions was

prepared and each party was contacted through telephone. The set of questions were

kept the same in order to get different perspectives on various issues.

Most of the workers seemed reluctant to answer the questions. However, most of the

Trade Union leaders were forthcoming and responded to the questions in a detailed

manner.

Phase 3 – Face to face interaction

The telephonic interaction with the Trade Union leaders gave some insights into the

condition of the workers. However, telephonic interaction was not a very effective

way to communicate with the workers. Also, it was felt that an actual field visit would

be required to actually experience the problems and issues first hand.

Hence, a visit to the company was made. The ‘Lakhimata’ colliery was selected for

the visit. During the visit, the group interacted with workers, Trade Union leaders and

the management. The group also visited the mines and saw the ground realities to

actually experience the problems first hand.

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ECL Mugma Area – An Overview

Mugma field lies on the west of Barakar River, in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand.

• Number of Mines – Details of Mines, their types and distribution of workers can

be found in Appendix-I.

Cadres for workers

• General Mazdoor - lowest on the cadre is general mazdoor category. They do not

have a fixed job definition and are assigned any work as per the requirements.

• Mining Sirdar – his work mainly involves supervision but he does not have any

decision making power.

• Overman – he is the overall incharge.

Trade Unions

There are 17 Trade Unions at ECL in the Mugma Area. The list of national unions

according to their affiliations is as follows -

• Affiliated to CITU –

- Collielery Mazdoor Sabha of India (CMSI)

-Bihar Colliery Kamgar Union (BCKU)

• Affiliated to AITUC

-United Coal Workers Union (UCWU)

• Affliated to INTUC

-Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Sangh (RCMS)

-Bihar Pradesh Colliery Mazdoor (BPCM)

• Affiliated to HMS

-Khan Mazdoor Congress (KMC)

-Bihar Janta Khan Mazdoor Sangh (BJKMS)

• Affiliated to BMS

-Koyala Mazdoor Congress (KMC)

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Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are several Regional Trade Unions, such

as -

• Agragami Jharkhand Colliery Mazdoor Union

• West Bengal Colliery Mazdoor Union

• Coal Mine Workers Union

• Bihar Colliery Mazdoor Sangh

• Koyala Khadan Mazdoor Panchayat

• Janta Shramik Sangh

• Jharkhand Colliery Mazdoor Union

Apart from these, there are two other unions -

• CMAI (Coal Mines Officers Association of India) – This has strength of 134

employees. Some of them have dual membership and are associated with other

trade unions as well. It’s the only White collar union.

• INMOSSA ( Indian National Mining Overmen, Sirdars and Shot firers

Association)

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Trade Unions’ Perspective

BCKU

The Mugma area of ECL has 17 trade unions, Bihar Colliery Kamgar Union(BCKU)

being the most prominent in terms of numbers of members and bargaining power. Mr

K.C. Dutta, the union leader of BCKU was contacted but since he was not ready to

disclose any anything, not much information could be gathered about BCKU.

CMWU The second largest trade union is Coal Mines Workers’ Union (CMWU). The India

head, Mr. Upendra Singh and Secretary of Mugma area, Mr. Jagdish Singh were

contacted through telephone. Following is the information gathered from them :

History

• Affiliated to All India Central Council of Trade Unions(AICCTU)

• Establishment year of union - 1980

• Officially registered in 1990, registration number – 3222

• Active in three subsidiaries of CIL – ECL, BCCL, CCL. Active in Bihar,

Jharkhand , W.B., Assam.

• Strength :: 3000 in Mugma Area . Total 35,000 in BCCL, ECL and CCL

Political links

• CPI(ML)-Liberation, follows communist ideology, MP and MLA of CPI(ML)

of Mugma area MLA of Deoghar( Jharkhand) are its members

Type of Union

• Industrial as all categories of workers like loaders, drillers, overman, mining

sirdars, trammers etc are a part of it

Membership

• Ordinary – workers

• Honorary – political leaders and retired workers

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Funds

• Method of collection of Funds –collecting cash from workers annually

• Funds Allocation( Political /General) – only general

Election of leaders

• Area wise head (secretary)- election held every year ;

• Branch wise zonal head (Secretary) (ECL, BCCL etc.) - election is held every

2 years ;

• Central head (Leader) – election held every 3 years. All elections are held at

union conferences.

Negotiation points

• Status of unorganised labour, getting Coal India and state government to

provide recognition to unorganised labour which constitutes 60% of the work

force. Providing them identity, social security and bringing them at par with

organised labour.

• Workers’ issues – leaves, dismissal which even lead to short strikes of a few

hours

Last strike – An all India strike held on 5th of July against the privatisation IPO of

Coal India (sale of 10% shares) which they believe would worsen the situation of

They believe that this is just a coy plot of the Govt. to open up the disinvestment

process. Starting from the initial quota of 10% shares it will ultimately lead to

privatisation of CIL.

Relations with the management

• The relations of the union with the management are not cordial. Management

acts like they are the owners. Exploitation is rampant. Communication is rare.

Relations with other unions

• Relations with other unions are mostly cordial. They work in unison against

the management in case of matters of common interest. Clash of views at

times leads to dissent amongst the unions. They come together at times to

show solidarity for the sake of unity of workers.

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Present issues

• Privatisation of Coal India, strike to be held on 7th Sept against

privatisation.

A brief overview - Coal Mines were nationalised to form CIL in 1973-74. Its

sole intent was to provide social status to the coal industry. It is currently a profit

making venture, a Navratna soon to be a Maharatna. Sale of 10 % shares is just a

coy plot which will lead to privatisation. It will worsen the situation of workers,

especially contract labourers. As of now, contract labour gets fewer wages than

their counterparts. Minimum wages don’t apply on them. A CIL employee gets

around 14,000 rupees per month. whereas a contract labour gets way less than it.

They have no perks or social security measures. Privatisation will make the little

amount of organised workers in the coal industry similar to the unorganised. This

will aggravate the situation rather than solving the problem. Workers are in

support of Red bastion. 30 strike days have taken place in the Mugma Area since

1980. Leaves are not given to the underground loaders. They are piece rated. If

they take leave after 25-26 days they management either suspends them or

doesn’t give them work for days. Other Unions are not taking up the cause of CL.

Illegal mining is rampant but management doesn’t do anything. Those are

abandoned mines by CIL. Workers are forced to work there in dangerous

conditions because of low wages.

CMSI

Mr. Ganesh Dhar, the trade union leader of Colliery Mazdoor Sabha of India( CMSI)

was contacted. Following is the information gathered :

History:

• Affiliated to CITU, established in 1954.

• Mugma was taken over in 1973 and had 46,000 workers and today has 7,000

workers. Outsourcing has increased hence permanent manpower has

decreased.

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Issues:

National level

• Propagating the trade union movement, uniting all coal mine workers.

• Opposing outsourcing which leads to exploitation of workers, increase in

contract workers. The attempt is to organize these unorganized sector workers.

• Organizing unorganized sector.

• Providing protection to the working class by bringing changes in the trade

union policy of India.

Colliery level

• Duration of work greater than the usual shift i.e. 8 hours. Workers are made to

work overtime but not paid for it.

• Permanent manpower reduced from 46,000 to 7,500 although the production

levels have increased. This has been due to increase in manpower outsourcing

(contract labour)

• All man all job – job description is not well defined, a single worker is made

to do all kinds of jobs due to which the safety of the worker is jeopardized.

• Increase in salary of officers in not tantamount to increase in salary of

workers. Also, workers do not get promoted beyond a certain level.

• Promotion - The basic policy of the industry is flawed as only a mining

engineer can be promoted to managerial level and head a unit. All the

employees including the doctors have to work under him.

• Safety related issues – Standards are not followed for mines such as no

measures are taken to protect the workers against coal dust after explosion

which is detrimental to their health and can prove fatal to their health in the

long run.

• Living conditions - House facilities, sanitation, drinking water, education,

health

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Type of Trade Union: Industrial

Funds:

• Rs. 12 per year membership fees.

• Accepts donation

• For larger functions they take special calls.

Expenditure:

• Political expenditure for elections - Decided according to constitution

RCMS

Mr Suresh Chandra Jha, the office Bearer of Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Sangh

(RCMS), Mugma area, through telephone. Following is the information that we

gathered from him:

History

• Affiliated to Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC)

• Officially registered on 6th feb 1951.

Type of Union

• Industrial as all categories of workers related to collieries like loaders, drillers,

supervisors are a part of it.

Rejection

• Proper interviews are taken to judge the character and intentions of the person

wishing to join union. If it appears that the person will try to break union or

create havoc between the members, the application is rejected.

Funds

• Method of collection of Funds –collecting cash through check off facility

• No funds are taken from any political party.

Negotiation points

• Taking care of the wage issues, other benefits such as Provident fund, gratuity,

medical benefits, issues of overtime etc. are dealt with.

• Workers’ issues – Delayed salary. Unhygienic and unsafe conditions of work.

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Opinion about strikes

• It was told by the union leader, no strike has occurred since the era of Indira

Gandhi. Strike is considered the last weapon since, it is a rule of INTUC that

if there is a strike at any place, the whole India coal supply is stopped. As the

consequences are severe, preference is given to negotiations and settlements.

Opinion about management

• Management is rarely good. Its sole aim is to maximize profits. Due to this,

they have a tendency to neglect workers and their benefits. In the end, workers

have to fight for their demands and it all depends on how much they can

extract from the management.

• We the unions play this role, we act like voices of workers and represent their

needs and demands to the managers.

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Workers’ Perspective Coal Industry is a labour intensive industry. In Mugma Area, there is very little

mechanisation done, hence workers are involved in the entire life cycle of coal

production. Underground mines involve more workers as compared to open cast

mines as open cast mines are comparatively more mechanised than underground

mines. Moreover, underground mines are more hazardous as compared to open cast

mines.

The mines that we visited for the purpose of our study was an underground mine

called Lakhimata Colliery. Hence the issues described in this report are from the

perspective of underground mine workers. What we learnt by interacting with the

workers was that they were only concerned with the small issues that they faced. They

saw unions as a means of getting their voice heard and their problems solved. They

did not know the ideologies of the unions nor did they understand what exactly unions

meant.

Issues faced by workers:

Safety: When asked about their problems faced, the first thing that workers

talked about was safety. Hence we figured that safety is the most important issue

for them. They had the following safety related concerns:

• Availability of proper mask to prevent them from coal dust

• Ventilation in underground mines

• Drinking water

• Rooms for taking rest

• Availability of proper shoes

• Delay in receipt of wages

Housing: Workers in general complained about the housing facilities made available

to them. They said that very often they need repair work to be done in their quarters.

Working when they are sick: Workers complained that often they are asked to work

in underground mines even if they are sick.

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When asked about membership to trade unions, an interesting observation that we

made was that they referred to them as parties and not as trade unions. They were of

the opinion that the above issues are addressed and handled to a large extent due to

the presence of the trade unions. Had there been no trade unions, none of their

problems would have been taken care of.

Educational Facilities – Adequate facilities for the education of their children are not

available.

Some Interactions

Sri Babulal Munda – Driller in lakhimata colliery: When asked about unions, he

said that he is a member of 5 different unions and gets his problems solved by

whichever one he can. This gave us the understanding that the workers are not

concerned with the ideologies of the unions. All they are concerned about is the

problems faced by them.

Sri K.P.Singh – Overman in Lakhimata colliery: Was a member of a craft union

INMOSSA (Indian National Mining Overman Mining Sirdar and Shotfirer

Association). The person was disgruntled about the fact that he had been promoted

only twice in his entire service duration, whereas according to company rules he

should have been promoted four times. He was to retire in another 1.5 years and was

worried that he will not get promoted. When asked about union membership, he said

he did not get any help from INMOSSA. In his opinion, since INMOSSA did not

have political links, their demands are not heard.

Contract workers

Maximum contract workers are involved in civil department which involves

construction work (Tracks, water dams), stopping (walls giving direction to

ventilation in underground mines). Apart from this for security and water supply

contract workers are used.

Issues:

• Facilities like housing, hospitals are not provided.

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• Contractors tend to use the same workers again and again by changing their

names. To avoid this issue, government has proposed issue of ID cards and PF

scheme on daily basis for contract workers.

Company provides safety to the contract workers and its cost is later adjusted with the

contractors.

ECL provides for medical examination of workers on a regular basis. Also, the

contract workers whose work involves underground are given specific training so as

to enable them to work amidst the hazards of underground mine.

Workers opinion on strikes:

Workers were of the opinion that strikes are the last means that they resort to. Most of

the workers are paid on piece rate basis, so strikes lead to loss of pay for them and

hence they try to avoid them.

Trade Unions hold small gate meetings regularly by assembling for a couple of hours

in the mines premises. There might not be any real issue, but such meetings are held

so as to make the presence of unions felt.

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Management Perspective

Figure 2: Issues from the management’s perspective (note, the size of the pie is only representative of the criticality, it does not bear any quantitative value)

Management was also vocal about its issues. A few of the important issues they

mentioned are depicted in the pie chart above. We will discuss management’s

perspective about them below.

Safety - Mining industry is a very dangerous, Mining being an unpredictable work.

Odds are always against the miners as they are working against nature. Therefore,

Management considers safety as a very big issue. Hence, even a slightest of lapse in

safety can turn to be fatal. Still, accidents are highly likely. Illiteracy is a big factor in

it. In case of an accident, the whole management springs into action. As soon as an

accident occurs, state authorities are informed. Directorate general of Mines Safety

(DGMS) is the first to be informed. Area rescue team and Police are also informed.

In case of fatal accidents, post mortems are carried out. As an after effect, union

demand job for dependents. It becomes a very big IR problem. Agent of the mines is

held responsible and case is filed on him. His career is almost destroyed as it becomes

a blot on that mine.

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On being told, that worker’s claim that, management is indifferent towards safety and

even important things like shoes are not provided to them. Management went into

denial. Management claimed that the workers don’t know how to use shoes and they

spoil it in quick successions. Management said that it’s just an excuse on worker’s

part. Management supplies shoes regularly without any delay though some problems

are bound to be there as there are technicalities involved. Management pressed on the

point that they don’t ignore any issues and action is taken as much as possible. On

being probed about water drainage issues and the claims that despite the fact that

monsoon is about to arrive, pumps are still not functional, management went into

straight denial mode. Management also refuted the claims that stowing is not being

done properly. They claimed that all rules and regulations of central government are

being followed.

Union safety meetings are held regularly with varied agendas. Almost all negotiations

with the Union are fruitful as far as safety issues are concerned.

Fringe benefits - Employee state insurance act is not applicable as full-fledged

medical facilities are provided to all workers with a hospital for each colliery.

Management remarked that 100% compliance is met. They were very vocal about it

that case can be filed if compliances were not met. DGMS takes care of the safety

matters. He/she inspects the mines once a month and generates report. Labour

commissioner ensures that gratuity, wages etc. are given properly. Legal acts

applicable are Mines Act, Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Contract Labour

Regulation and Abolition Act et al. If there is delay in gratuity a worker can file a case

with labour commissioner and claim compensation. To avoid such situations,

management sends notice to workers for collection of gratuity and if they don’t turn

up, gratuity is deposited with the labour commissioner.

Multiple trade unions - Handling of multiple trade unions is also a problem. They

have to be handled tactfully. One has to be a good listener. Management always

remains within the central government specified rules and procedures and the unions

also adhere to them. The Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI) sits

and formulates the National Coal Wage (NCW) agreement every 5 years. JBCCI

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constitutes of representatives of the management of coal companies and the five

central trade unions, viz, Indian National Mineworkers’ Federation (INTUC), Indian

Mine Workers’ federation (AITUC), Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation (HMS), Akhil

Bharatiya Khadan Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), and All India Coal Workers’ Federation

(CITU). NCW agreement has rules and procedural guidelines for promotions, wages,

bonus, et al. JBCCI sit every five years to formulate the NCW agreement.

Wages - On the matter of low wages management remarked that every five years their

salary is revised in NCW. Apart from this every year 10% increment is given due to

promotion. In underground mines 70% of the cost of production is attributed to salary

and wages of the employees. Underground mines have higher salary cost as its more

labour intensive due to low mechanization. Open cast mines are mechanized, so less

workers are required for same amount of production. This is evident from the

difference in the productivity of CIL subsidiaries like ECL and WCL. Hence in open

cast mines salary cost is 30% of the cost of production as compared to overall 60%.

Management also shared that a very big bottleneck is their inability to develop

infrastructure. Unlike factories, mines are temporary in the sense that they might need

to shut down on the account of exhaustion of coal. Hence, they cannot invest much in

infrastructure as it will all add to the residual losses.

Communication gap - Management also refuted the claims of lack of communication

between management and workers. They claimed that they prefer talking directly to

workers and the workers also like that.

Absenteeism - Absenteeism is another of major problem. If a worker remains absent

without informing, he is charge sheeted and the charge sheet is sent to his home. He

might or might not respond. Inquiry is done and his past record is seen. If the person

concerned is performing some critical work, workers from other areas are diverted to

that job.

Gate meetings - Management also stated that gate meetings spanning 2-3 hours are

held almost every month by unions to just show their presence without any substantial

issue.

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Attitude of union leaders - They also pointed that despite being workers; most of the

union leaders do not come to office and shirk their work. They devote all their time to

union activities. The management also gives them the liberty to do this as it doesn’t

want to dirty its hands because of their political linkages. For example, Ganesh Dhar,

leader, CMSI doesn’t come to office but still claims to be a protected worker and gets

paid regularly.

Facilities - Power failure is also a big problem for management and it results in huge

loss of production. Management also refuted the claims of issues in drinking water,

rest rooms and ventilation. It claimed that arrangement of drinking water is

outsourced and ventilation is also as per the standards.

Illegal mining - When we told them that some trade unions were also vocal about the

illegal mining problem, they shirked their responsibility. They remarked that illegal

mining is prevalent in abandoned mines. Hence, it is not the responsibility of

management. It is the responsibility of state authority. Management informs the

authorities and FIR is lodged against them

Management’s take on Politics:

Management was of the view that the political interference is huge. Every union

wants to have maximum workers. Unions take small issues and go on small strikes to

make their presence felt, build trust amongst work. They also do unnecessary acts to

just show that they are working for the benefit of workers and how workers are

benefitted by them. They too know that there are certain issues which the

management also can’t do anything about but just to show their importance they bring

them up. Political leaders exploit the company. Most of the union leaders are

politically linked. Many of them are MLA’s or MP’s. The MLA of deoghar,

Jharkhand is one of them. All political parties like, congress, CPI (M), CPI (ML),

forward bloc, BJP, and others have influence over the trade unions.

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Labour Commissioner’s Take

Assistant Labour Commissioner of the Mugma area, Mr VK Trivedi was contacted under Phase 2 of the study. Important issues of the workers in the Mugma Area

The type of issues depends upon the types of workers. There are two kinds of workers

– permanent workers and contract workers. The various issues faced by each type are

• Permanent Workers –

1. Housing – The housing provided to the workers is not good. The

houses are old and withered and are prone to damage in rainy season

and in winters. Some workers do not have access to houses or have

very small houses considering their family size.

2. Pay Related issues – Pay forms the other most important issue. There

have been disputes with respect to pay scales, fixation of pay etc.

3. Cadre Scheme – There are issues with respect promotions in the cadre

scheme, in which workers can be sent to a higher cadre of service.

4. Working Conditions – The working conditions and work hours in the

collieries is another major issue for the workers.

• Contract Workers –

1. Minimum Wages – The contract workers have been exploited by the

contractors from time to time. There have been instances when the

workers have received pay that is below the minimum wages. There

are several violations of the Contract Labourer’s Act. It is imperative

for the Labour Commission to conduct audits from time to time.

2. Regularization of wages – Another issue for contract workers is the

regularization of wages to get a sustained income for earning their

livelihood.

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Most of the issues for the contract workers are with respect to wages. They

have less number of demand s with respect to facilities such as housing,

better living conditions, work hours etc.

Efforts made by the Labour Commission

• Inspections – The inspectors of the Labour Commission conduct inspections

from time to time to ensure compliance and find out whether wages are being

paid properly and the living conditions are appropriate.

• Dispute Settlement – The Labour Commission acts as the third party in case

of disputes between the management and the labourers/unions. As per the

inputs from the Assistant Labour Commissioner, most of the disputes have

been successfully resolved by the commission.

How do workers approach the Labour Commission?

• Permanent Workers – Permanent workers generally approach the Labour

Commission through the union. They approach directly in case the union does

not satisfy their needs.

• Contract Workers – Contract workers are not unionized. Hence, most of the

contract workers approach the Labour Commission directly.

Bottlenecks in front of the Labour Commission –

• Lack of infrastructure – There is lack of infrastructure and manpower in the

Labour Commission, because of which inspection and resolution of grievances

takes more time.

• Remote Areas – A lot of areas, such as Sarkunda, are at remote locations,

which makes them inaccessible for the inspectors. However, efforts are being

made to have an office in the vicinity of every area.

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Role of the Labour Commission in strikes –

Whenever a strike is planned, a notice is sent to the Labour Commission. Most of the

strikes in the Mugma Area have been prevented through proactive action from the

Labour Commission. The day the Commission receives the notice for the strike, it

begins meetings from the two concerned parties. Efforts are made to resolve the issue

through negotiations, so that strikes could be avoided.

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Key Take-aways from project Relationship between Workers and Management:

Need for cordial relations: Since mining industry is highly labour intensive, the

relations between workers and management tends to affect the production. For this

reason, management tries to maintain cordial relations with the workers, so that the

coal production is not adversely affected.

How are cordial relations maintained: The personnel manager was of the opinion

that being a good listener helps. He said that giving ears to the problems of workers

rather than shunning them when they approach the management solves half of the

problems. Showing empathy to them not only helps to keep them motivated but also

builds trust between management and workers.

Workers’ attitude towards management: On talking to the workers also, we could

make out that they had a certain understanding of the management’s limitations. On

being asked if management is able to solve all your problems, one worker responded

“management solves our problems as much as is there in their scope”. This showed

that there exists a basic understanding between management and workers.

Disagreements:

• Workers major concerns are about the safety issues for example proper shoes

are not provided. When the management was asked what are they doing about

the safety concerns of workers, they replied that these are just excuses, shoes

are provided but workers don’t know how to use them and hence spoil them

easily. Essentially, the management should provide the workers with

necessary training regarding the usage of shoes and other safety issues.

• Management feels that absenteeism is a critical issue. Due to absenteeism,

work suffers, costs increase and productivity decreases. When workers are

absent, charge sheets are sent to them and enquiry is done. Wages are given

based on the number of days worked since they are paid on piece rate basis.

When workers are absent for a particular critical function, workers from other

less critical jobs are diverted to perform those jobs.

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• Mode of interaction: The mode of interaction between workers and

management is direct. Workers approach management directly and

management also approaches workers directly whenever required.

An interesting observation that we made was that workers were not afraid of voicing

their criticisms even in front of the management. For instance, Sri K.P. Singh

referring to the personnel manager, told us “Ask him how many promotions have I

got and how many was I entitled?”

Following is a case relating to a safety issue faced by a worker :

Case – A local strike at ECL The last strike happened on 5th July 2010. It was related to a safety issue. A worker named Bhagwan Behra hurt his leg while working in the mines. He claimed that he was not able to walk and hence would not be able to go underground. The management set up a medical board, which said he was capable of working. Usually when workers are hurt in mine, they are labeled as “injury on duty”. But since he was declared fit, this wasn’t written for him. This worker continued saying he had a problem working, but the management refused to yield. This led to a furore amongst the workers. They went on a 24 hour strike. A temporary solution was sought by collective bargaining and the method of payment was changed from piece rated to time rated for the employee injured. Also, later on, another medical board was set up, to which previous reports were sent and finally he was declared medically unfit for underground job. Now he is doing surface work. He is a loader and is still working on surface. Final solution on this is still pending.

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Inter Trade Unions’ Relations

Relations between the trade unions mostly seem to be cordial on the outside. On

rigorous probing the union leaders started to justify their importance over other unions.

Some even bad mouthed others in a subtle manner. The unions under the Red Bastion

- as they called themselves; i.e, CMWI, BCKU, were more vocal against the other

unions. They remarked that they are the only saviours of the unorganised workers and

other unions are just puppets in the hands of the management.

Also the big politically affiliated unions don’t like the advent of non-political craft

unions. Craft unions, such as, Indian National Mining Overmen, Sirdars and Shot

Firers Association (INMOSSA) have lately gained importance. Management likes to

negotiate with them which automatically gives them recognition. This is not liked by

the politically affiliated unions.

Relations between Trade unions and workers All the issues faced by the workers relating to salary, housing, sanitation, safety,

drinking water etc voiced by the unions. The only motive of a worker behind joining a

trade union is redressal of grievances. Workers join whichever union they believe

would be able to resolve their day to day issues. They even join multiple unions. After

interviewing a bunch of workers, we found that except for the TU leader , none of the

workers were even aware of the ideologies of the Trade union and the larger objective

of TU movement.

For instance, one of the workers Babulal Munda, Driller in lakhimata colliery was a

part of 4 trade unions viz a viz BCKU, CMWU, CMSI and BMS. For him, unions

exist only to address day to day problems of workers like housing, salary, food etc

Relationship between Management and Trade Unions:

Management recognises all the trade unions present (BCKU, CMSI, CMWU,

RCMS). The JCC (Joint Consultative Committee) contains representation from all the

unions.

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When JCC meetings are held, a lot of demands are incorporated in the charter of

demands by the unions. Also there are times when union members call impromptu

meetings for approximately half hour on random issues.

Management point of view: Lot of these demands made by union leaders are rhetoric,

and are discussed, without any fruitful results. Union leaders are aware of this fact,

but still indulge in this exercise. The main reason for this is: the need to emphasize

their existence.

Unions take small issues and go on small strikes to make their presence felt, build

trust amongst works, show that they are working for the benefit of workers and how

workers are benefitted by them.

Union’s point of view: This is done because we know that management will not

consider all demands, will ignore many and accept some. Therefore, we generally

make a lot of demands. Also we need to reflect management that we are aware of the

issues and will keep on following them up.

If the unimportant demands are met and important ones are not, the relationship

between management and the trade unions worsens.

Collective bargaining Collective bargaining is done through Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Joint

Bipartite Committee for Coal Industries (JBCCI).

JCC exists at unit level, area level and head quarter level. Whatever issues are not

addressed at unit level are brought to area level. Same is true for area level which

comes next to head quarter level in order of importance .JCC consists of trade unions

leaders of all recognised trade unions as well as representation from management and

in its sessions the trade unions and management exchange views and share

information. For some sessions, trade unions nominate technical experts to be a part

of the session to give their view on technical issues.

The Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industry (JBCCI) sits and formulates the

National Coal Wage (NCW) agreement. JBCCI constitutes of representatives of the

management of coal companies and the five central trade unions, viz, Indian National

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Mineworkers’ Federation (INTUC), Indian Mine Workers’ federation (AITUC), Hind

Khadan Mazdoor Federation (HMS), Akhil Bharatiya Khadan Mazdoor Sangh (BMS),

and All India Coal Workers’ Federation (CITU). NCW agreement has rules and

procedural guidelines for promotions, wages, bonus, et al. JBCCI sit every five years

to formulate the NCW agreement.

Separate committees are formed to discuss issues like housing, safety , wage revision

etc. Meetings for these committees are held each month to discuss related issues.

Following describes the MOM of some JCC sessions

MOM Dated 06/06/2009 GM, Mugma area welcomed the JCC members. He presented the production target and achievement of the year 2008-09. Gave the reasons for the loss of Rs. 250 crores mainly as:

• Hike in wages of wage board employees and executives • Hike in payment of gratuity and other benefits.

Current year production target was fixed and achievability was conditioned to

• increase of U/ G/ Ls OMS ( Output per man shift ) • Boosting production by installing new SDL (side discharge loader) at some

collieries. • Atleast 30% increase in production to compensate for loss.

Some issues discussed were:

• SDL Workers and SDL miners transferred to Hariajam from Shyampur colliery did not join there. Unions urged to be more pro-active in this regard.

• Absenteeism of underground Loaders • Single tub loading by some underground loaders. • Quarters: Repairing drain and garbage clearing. • Matter of water supply. Drinking water not upto the mark.

Unions response:

• List of all habitual absentees and single tub loaders was demanded from agents. Suggested that loaders absent from less than 10 days allowed joining immediately. Some loaders made to remain absent and harsh punishment like dismissal to be awarded. Disciplinary action to be speeded up. They advocated the use of personal counselling to reduce absenteeism. Rest shelters to be kept in order so that workers reporting for 3rd shift may rest there.

• Quarters: Repairing drain, garbage clearing and Matter of water supply to be discussed in welfare Committee meeting.

The union members assured of their co-operation in improving production or productivity of the area.

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MOM Dated 13/03/2009 Firstly, the introduction of management and the unions took place. Also, all the JCC members assured their full support and co-operation for betterment of Mugma area and its workers. GM speaks: Due to globalization, market is open and competition has increased. Disadvantage is that as this is a raw material producing industry, the prices cannot be increased as per our desire. Advantage is that there will never be lack of demand of our product. Emphasized on self motivation and image improvement. Standard of living for workmen if improved, will lead to reduction of absenteeism, in turn leading to increase in the earnings, therefore ensuring industrial progress. To withstand the 30% wages cost hike as NCWA VIII is implemented, cost reduction measures to be taken like:

• Saving electricity: Keeping a check on unauthorized occupants of the quareters.

• Growth in productivity.

MOM Dated 04/12/2008 Issues:

1. A workmen succumbed to injuries on 11.11.08 while on duty on 4.11.08 in underground.

2. Some mines to be closed. Reason attributed to low productivity of loaders due to absenteeism and diversion to TR job (Also the authorization to perform jobs apart from their designation had been cancelled).

3. Access the underground T/R requirement to be engaged in T/R mines

4. Advantage of deploying and loading of wagons manually where there was negligible grade slippage/ quality deduction explained.

5. Regularization of UG workers

Implications of being a PSU The fact that ECL is a subsidiary of CIL, which is a PSU, also affects various things.

All the policies are formulated by the central government. Respective units cannot

make any changes in them to suit their particular requirements. Many of the issues

remain unaddressed as it involves various hierarchies. Politics also comes up as a very

big problem. Blame game and transfer of responsibilities is also rampant.

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The table below shows a comparison between jamadoba mines of TISCo and the ECL

coal mines which depicts the difference between a private sector and a public sector

mine.

TISCO Coal Mines - Jamadoba ECL Coal Mines

Proper measures incorporated for the

safety of workers such as provision of

mining shoes, proper helmets.

Workers complained of mining shoes not

being available for most of them.

A internal system has been built by

TATA’s for the drainage of underground

water. The drained water is then treated

and made fir for drinking. This system

serves as the only source of drinking

water for the nearby villages occupied by

mine workers. Hence, it solves a dual

purpose of drainage as well as drinking

water.

There is no proper provision for the

drainage of underground water. At times

the workers have to work with half of

their bodies submerged in water. Lack of

proper drainage facilities lead to

accidents in the colliery which in turn

could prove fatal for the workers.

No illegal mining Plagued by illegal mining and theft

Once the mining operation culminates,

the mine needs to be filled with sand.

This process is called stowing. All Tata

mines are stowed to avoid its negative

implications.

Stowing is not practiced religiously in

case of underground mining even though

it is a governmental norm. This leads to

undulation and reduction in water table.

Because of the facilities provided,

relations between the workers and

management are mostly cordial. Tatas

also have a separate organisation called

Tata Steel Rural Development Society for

the upliftment of the villages where its

mines and factories are located.

Housing and medical facilities provided

are not adequate. Houses are prone to

damage in rainy and winter season. Also,

medical facilities are not up to the mark.

Most of the issues addressed by trade

unions are related to housing and safety

of workers.

Career path of workers is well defined. None, except for the mining engineers,

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Workers are promoted as per the norms.

Also, the office of the head of the unit is

not the prerogative of mining engineer’s

only.

can head the unit. Others employees are

not promoted beyond a certain level.

Also, the career path of workers is not

well defined and most of them are

promoted only once or twice before they

retire although there are 4 levels till

which they could be promoted.

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Suggestions & Conclusions As per the study, it can be concluded that the Industrial Relations in a company

depends on various factors, some of which are as follows –

a. Type of Industry – Every industry has its own characteristics which in turn

result in different problems. Workers in coal mining industry have their own set

of problems. For example, the problem of safety is of a major concern in the

mining industry. With different industries, there are different issues for the

workers and hence the Industrial Relations vary from the type of industry.

b. Geographical Area – Different areas of the country have different ideologies

and political linkages. Hence, Trade Unions at different geographic areas will be

dominated by different political parties, representing different agendas. For

example, the Mugma area lies in the politically active eastern belt of the

country. Majority of trade unions are affiliated to communist parties.

c. Type of ownership – Different ownership types, bring with them different

generes of management styles. Publically owned companies are generally

plagued with several issues such as inefficiency and a general apathy towards

the workers. As was seen from the comparitive study, the publically owned ECL

faces with several issues as compared to the privately owned TISCO.

Based on the study, the following observations and suggestions can be made -

Mining is a labour intensive industry. Workers are subjected to conditions which are

hazardous and prone to accidents. In such a situation, dealing with workers becomes

a very critical issue. It is very important to take due care of workers so as to protect

them from accidents, which can occur very easily.

Maintaining prescribed safety standards in the mines is indispensible. A sense of

trust should be instilled in the workers so that they are ready to give their 100% in the

work. This would come from understanding their needs and enabling them to live

their lives with dignity. An attempt should be made to educate them, give them proper

housing, health care facilities so that their quality of life improves.

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The communication gap between workers and management should be abridged. The

workers in our case are not able to understand the disinvestment policy and have

turned against it just because unions preach that. Providing them with proper

information and communicating to them the exact scenario would help them make

their own opinions and take their own stand. Such disagreeableness can be avoided by

proper communication.

Interacting directly with the workers is very important for trust building. In our

case, we could witness this to some extent. Workers and management worked hand in

hand to achieve production targets. But in order to achieve the organizational goals, it

is imperative that the treatment meted out to the workers by management is fair and

just and relations between the two are based on mutual trust.

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References Conversations with:

• Mr. P.K. Sinha , Personnel Manager, Mugma Area

• Mr. Rajesh Trivedi, Deputy Personnel Manager, Mugma Area

• Mr. V.K. Trivedi, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Jharkhand

• Mr.A. k. Jha, District President RCMS - 9431121784 - Harsh

• Mr.K.C. Dutta , BCKU

• Mr. Suresh Chandra Jha ,RCMS

• Mr. Upendra Singh ,CMWU

• Mr. Ganesh Dhar , CMSI • Mr. P B Chandra (Sr. Overman)

• Mr. R N Dutta (Elec. Supervisor)

• Mr. Ajit Pd. Mishra (Sr. Overman)

• Mr. Ram Pravesh Nonia (Loader/Driller)

• Mr. Ram Naresh Singh (Sr. Overman)

• Mr. Mahendra Rajbhar (Fitter - Mech)

• Md. Quasim (Sr. Overman)

• Mr. Raj Kumar Pandey (Dozer Operator)

• Mr. Sudhir Kr Singh (Overman)

• Mr. Pahalwan Boxri* (Timber Mistry)

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Appendix-I

Type of Coal Mine Total Number Underground Mines 11 Opencast Mines 3 Total Mines 14 Table 1: ECL Mines in Mugma Area

Name of the Underground Mine Approximate number of workers Chapapur Colliery 1,012 Hariajan Colliery 836 Lakhimata Colliery 807 Badjna Colliery 675 Khoodia Colliery 564 Shampur B Colliery 605 Kumardhubi Colliery 558 Mandman Colliery 451 Central pool 174 Area office + regional workshop 476 Nirsha 127 Total 6285 Table 2: number of workers in underground mines of ECL in the Mugma area. Name of the Opencast Mine Approximate number of workers Gopinathpur 341 Baramuri 338 Rajpura 395 Total 1,074 Table 3: number of workers in opencast mines of ECL in the Mugma area.