Coal India to conclude wage pact at the earliest, negotiations in progress

New Delhi [India], July 6 : The Ministry of Coal on Wednesday clarified that the state-owned coal major Coal India has held five meetings under National Coal Wage Agreement 'NCWA - XI' so far, and the coal producer aims to conclude the wage pact of its non-executive workforce at the earliest in a mutually agreeable manner.
The state-owned coal producer maintains amicable and harmonious relations with its Unions and strives to avoid any discordance or strikes in view of the importance of the coal sector in the country, a Ministry of Coal statement said on Wednesday.
"The negotiations are in progress and it usually takes time to conclude the pact," it added.
It is also pertinent to mention that Coal India was the first central PSU in the country to have successfully concluded the previous three wage agreements. Keeping up with the tradition, it hopes to quickly seal the wage pact this time as well.
It added that that any reports contrary to the statement is "factually incorrect and one-sided".
The clarification from the ministry came close on the heels of media reports suggesting that the recent talks held with trade unions on the wage hike matter failed to reach any formal agreement.