Date | Feb 02, 2017:

After coal mine workers intensified their agitation yesterday with 393 new workers sitting on 'Fast Unto Death', the state government on Wednesday rushed a high-profile team of officers to Moughla coal mine in Rajouri where hours long meeting between the officers and coal mine workers produced results and workers called-off their agitation.

A team of Jammu and Kashmir Minerals Limited headed by its Managing Director Abid Sohail and accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, Shabir Ahmed Bhat and SSP Rajouri M Suleman reached the coal mine in Moughla village of Kalakote where a total of 405 workers were on 'Fast Unto Death' while three others were hospitalised yesterday.

The team of officers, in their initial interaction with workers, assured them of redressal of their demands and asked them to call of agitation. But the workers denied, claiming that earlier also similar assurances were given by government to them but all “proved to be fake.”

Later a meeting started between coal mine workers and the team of officers wherein workers put forth their demand and issues.

They stated that the safety measures for workers inside coal mine are almost negligible and they are working in unsafe conditions.

Other demands put forth in the meeting include holding Departmental Promotion Committee meetings and raising of monthly wages.

"One worker on an average collects coal to the cost of rupees 3000 to 3500 but gets only 150 rupees as wage. We also demand implementation of minimum wage rule of 18000 rupees per month,” the workers further demanded, also stating in the meeting that their Living Allowance is pending for decades.

The main demand raised was regularization of workers.

Later addressing the meeting, Managing Director J&K Minerals Limited, Abid Sohail informed the workers that their most demands are already under consideration of authorities and will hopefully be solved soon.

"Wages have recently been increased while safety measures inside mines are a priority,” he said.

He said the state government has recently announced to frame a policy of regularization of daily wagers and “we will also start regularization process of contractual coal mine workers under the same policy.”

"We are waiting for the new policy to be announced by government and issue of regularization will be taken up before board meeting as per the new policy,” the MD said.

Later a written agreement was signed in which JK Minerals Limited sought six months from workers for starting regularization process and on this agreement, the agitation was called off.

(Source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/)