The stakes are high for the Congress party’s trade union wing INTUC-affiliated Singareni Coal Mines Labour Union (SCMLU) and the Singareni Collieries Workers Union (SCWU), an affiliate of the AITUC, the trade union arm of the CPI, in the election to the recognised union of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to be held on December 27.
Campaigning for the SCCL-recognised union elections drew to a close at 5 p.m. on Monday. Notwithstanding the Congress party and the CPI alliance in the just concluded Assembly elections, the trade unions affiliated to both the parties are contesting the SCCL trade union elections separately. In all, as many as 13 trade unions operating in the SCCL including those affiliated to the Central trade unions are in the fray.
The resignation of the three top leaders of the BRS-affiliated Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) including its president B. Venkata Rao on Thursday rendered a big blow to the TBGKS, which held the coveted recognised union status in the SCCL twice, just before the December 27 election. In the last election held in 2017, the TBGKS emerged victorious by winning 9 out of the 11 areas in the coal belt spanning six districts.
