A joint front of more than five major trade unions will organise a Parliament march on August 2 against the proposed amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
Workers from the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. (KMML), Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL) and Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTPL) will participate in the march. An anti-privatisation forum, led by the joint front of trade unions that include the CITU, INTUC, UTUC, AITUC, STU, KOF and SPATO, is the organiser of the protest.
“As per the Act, the State government has the power to mine minerals from the Kerala coast and the right for mineral sand mining is vested in government-owned public sector companies. The amendment will change the policy of keeping mining within the public sector. Privatisation of mining will lead to overexploitation of coastal land and it will also affect the future of public sector workers,” said trade union leaders at a press meet here on Friday.
