The 3-day strike against privatization began on 2 July 2020 at Kumardhuvi Coal Region under the banner of the countrywide joint front (Rashtravyapi Sanyukta Morcha). The strike was widespread and successful in Dhanbad District.
Production was at a standstill in all collieries including Kumardhuvi Colliery, excepting Barmudi, Rajpura Open Cast in Mugma Area (ECL).
At Barmudi, INTUC, CMWU, and BCKU with flags and banners braved CISF, Jharkhand Police and Colliery guards to appeal for the success of the workers’ strike.
Responding to the joint call by Left parties for a 3 day coal workers’ strike against privatization of the coal sector, a march was organized at Ramgarh on 2 July 2020 from the CPIML office and culminated in a meeting at Subhash Chowk. The march was organized jointly by Left parties.
Addressing the meeting in support of the 3-day coal workers’ strike, the leaders said that attempts by the Central and some State governments to abrogate or amend labor laws and render them ineffective should be opposed tooth and nail. All attempts to set aside International Labor Organization recommendations should also be strongly curbed. They demanded that auction for privatization of coal should be revoked; stop selling coal blocks to private parties; ensure that loading in collieries is done through hand-loading by workers instead of by machines; true self-reliance of the nation should be ensured by scrapping FDI. The land is ours, the minerals are ours; the right to land, forest, water, minerals, and employment is ours; why then are we being made to suffer unemployment and poverty? The Central and State governments must take effective steps to resolve the growing unemployment problem and guarantee accountability of the owner-class and institutions towards the human rights of the working class. There should be no repetition of the distress recently meted out to migrant workers. The government must slash petrol-diesel prices and reduce inflation.
On 3 July, the second day of the 3-day coal workers’ strike, a protest was organized under the banner of the Sanyukta Morcha in front of the GM office at CCL Giridih Area, and the leaders appealed to people to make the strike against privatization of the coal sector a resounding success.
