NLCIL writes to Cuddalore dist police to shift striking contract workers to another place

CHENNAI: The Central Public Sector Enterprise Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Ltd (NLCIL) on Wednesday wrote to the Cuddalore district police and demanded the members of the NLCIL Jeeva Contract Workers’ Union, who are on strike, to be shifted to another place.

The company in a letter stated that the day-to-day operations in the company have been severely affected due to the workers' strike and the NLCIL is also fearing that there might be a possibility of any mishap to the safety of the company and its employees. The NLCIL stated that due to the protest, a situation of panic and tension is being created and added that the NLCIL is ready to provide four places for the contract workers to continue the strike.

Members of the NLCIL Jeeva Contract Workers’ Union affiliated with the AITUC have been on strike since July 26 to press for their demands, including the regularisation of jobs as per their seniority in the NLCIL Industrial Cooperative Service Society (Indcoserve). The strike continued for the 8th day today. The workers are on strike day and night.

Following this, a meeting was held with the contract workers under the chairmanship of the Divisional Officer on Tuesday. In the meeting, the union executives of the NLCIL management, the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, and others participated. but the talks failed to reach an agreement.

On July 31, the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu government and NLCIL to file an affidavit on Wednesday about the compensation to the farmers for damaged standing crops in Neyveli for NLCIL expansion. Justice SM Subramaniam also ordered the petitioner to file an affidavit that he will not cultivate further after harvesting the crops and the land will be given to the NLCIL.

A day before the Madras High Court order, Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan came down heavily on NLCIL and said that it is unacceptable for the Central Public Sector Enterprise management to destroy crops on the acquired farmland for its expansion activities in Neyveli in Cuddalore district.

Earlier, PMK president Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss demanded the withdrawal of cases filed against his party cadres and sought the immediate release of twenty-six persons arrested over the protest against NLC mine expansion at Neyveli.

On July 28, tension prevailed at Neyveli as PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss along with the party's rank and file protested the NLC expansion. Thousands of PMK cadres participated in the protest and raised slogans against NLC. Anbumani was arrested by the police but was released later.

Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan demanded the NLCIL drop its expansion plan considering the public opposition to it.

The land acquisition for NLCIL mining expansion is underway in the villages of Valayamadevi village near Bhuvanagiri in Cuddalore district. During the past two days, villagers demanded that crops should not be destroyed, but the Corporation began its work.