HYDERABAD: The 35-dayold strike by the workers of the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has been called off. After talks which stretched for more than four-and-half hours with the management, AITUC working president Y Gattaiah announced on late Monday night that the strike stood deferred.The decision was taken in view of the request made by the TJAC convener Prof M Kodandaram. The SCCL workers have been on strike since Sept 13 in three districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal.Only in Khammam, the SCCL workers were not on strike. The representatives of AITUC, the recognised union, and five others - HMS, BMS, INTUC, IFTU and PGBKS, held talks with SCCL chairman and managing director S Narasing Rao and directors of the company.TJAC chairman M Kodandaram and TRS leader Nayani Narasimha Reddy joined the union leaders midway in the talks. Gattaiah said the management had agreed to pay an advance of Rs.25,000 to each worker which would be recoverable from their wages after wage revision in accordance with the ninth wage board. Kodandaram said the SCCL workers would resume duty but would continue to fight for separate Telangana state. “This is only deferrment of strike. If necessary, they would strike work in future,” he said.The management, according to him, also agreed to adjust leave against the strike period so that the workers would not lose wages for the strike period. As regards other demands, SCCL management has agreed to resolve them through mutual discussions. The management said that as 54,000 workers of the total 65,000 workforce were on strike, the company incurred a loss of Rs 574 crore.
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