KARIMNAGAR: Revival of the dependent employment scheme for the benefit of the miners’ children of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) by the State Government has pepped up the sagging morale of the Telangana Boggu Ghani Karmika Sangham (TGBKS), which is gearing up for the elections to the recognized trade union in Singareni.
The TGBKS, the trade union wing of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, had won the recognized trade union elections in August 2012. Its main slogan then was revival of dependent employment scheme, hence the union leaders were a worried lot with the delay in the announcement of revival of the scheme.
The TGBKS had also launched agitations demanding the revival of the scheme by forming Singareni Sons Association (SSA) last year.
With the elections round the corner,the national trade unions such as AITUC, INTUC, CITU, HMS and others were targeting the TGBKS for failing to fulfil the election promise of revival of the scheme by conducting meetings at various mines in the coal belt.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to revive the scheme just ahead of the elections comes in handy for the TGBKS to intensify their electioneering and retain the coveted recognized trade union status in Singareni.
The scheme was in force from January 29, 1981 to June 6, 1998. Then TDP government had scrapped it as a part of its new industrial policy.
Under thescheme children of the coal miners are provided employment on compassionate grounds if the workers fall sick or are unable to discharge their duties. Under the scheme, the coal miners, who were sick and unable to discharge their duties in spite of having two years of service left, used to provide employment to their wards by taking retirement.
Prior to this scheme, they were being provided employment either in case of an accidental death or in complete bed-ridden cases.
The revival of the scheme also rekindles hopes of the unemployed children of coal miners.
The TGBKS leaders also said that the decision would ensure infusion of new blood into Singareni and help in the progress of the company with increase in production as many of the existing miners had crossed 50 years of age. Also there was no fresh recruitment following the mechanisation of the mines.
