The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has decided to implement a new cadre scheme for its employees working in 14 cadres with 35 designations reducing the period for promotion by two to three years. The company management has also announced increase in 11 types of allowances and regularisation of another 900 ‘badli’ workers as general ‘mazdoors’.
According to the coal company officials, an agreement to the effect was signed between the management and the recognised workers’ union at Ramagundam on Thursday. The decisions benefiting about 20,000 workers will come into effect from September 1. The agreement was signed by Director (Administration) S. Chandrasekhar on behalf of SCCL and functionaries of the recognised union B. Venkat Rao, Raji Reddy and others.
The cadre scheme was finalised after studying the practice in Coal India Ltd and a series of meetings between the unions and SCCL management. Officials stated that the new cadre scheme would benefit employees with 35 designations in 14 cadres including fitters, foremen, electricians, drillers, junior mining engineer trainee (JMET), paramedical and civil. It would benefit them by reducing the time for promotion by two to three years.
On the increase in allowances, the Singareni officials said 11 types of allowances which have been static for years would be increased ranging from 30% to 100% and the financial implication due to it on the company would be ₹5 crore per annum.
Stating that ‘badli’ workers were not regularised as general mazoords even after putting in one year work for four to five years before formation of Telangana State, the officials stated that 2,178 of them were designated as general mazdoors after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s meeting with the workers earlier this year. However, it was requested to designate another 900 badili workers as general mazdoors who had put in 190 to 240 musters in 2017.
Against the practice of not paying bonus to trainees, the company management has also decided to pay bonus to JMET, foremen and other trainees this year. An amount of about ₹3 crore would be paid as bonus to such trainees.
