Govt. deceiving Singareni workers in sharing profit as bonus: KTR

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao speaking after a meeting with party leaders of Singareni areas in Hyderabad on Friday.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement

HYDERABAD

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), along with like-minded trade unions of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) and other political parties, has decided to challenge the State government over the unfair treatment of SCCL workers regarding the bonus announced from company profits.

At a meeting with current and former BRS representatives from the Singareni Collieries areas on Sunday, party working president K.T. Rama Rao accused the government of deceiving Singareni workers regarding their bonus. He pointed out that the company made a profit of ₹4,701 crore in 2023-24, and the promised 33% bonus should amount to ₹1,551 crore.

However, the government was sparing only ₹796 crore to Singareni workers as bonus, which was only 16.9% of profits and not 33% as claimed by the government. On an average, the loss to every worker would be about ₹1.8 lakh. During the 204-14 period under the Congress Government in the past only ₹365 crore was shared among workers as bonus out of the profits.

In the BRS rule from 2014-23, a total of ₹2,780 crore bonus out of profits was shared among the workers. Against a maximum of 15% share given to workers as bonus during the combined State, the BRS Government in the past had given a share of profits up to 32% to the Singareni’s workers. In monetary terms, the share of bonus had increased to an average of ₹1.72 lakh per worker during the BRS rule from just ₹17,000 each at the time of State (Telangana) formation.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Rama Rao sought to know from the Congress Government whether deceit was its gift to the Singareni workers who had ensured Congress win in 13 Assembly seats in Singareni areas and also supporting the trade union affiliated to the Congress party in the Singareni workers elections.

He alleged that the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were hand in glove, as cautioned by BRS, in privatising Singareni beginning with auction of coal mines in the Singareni areas. The bonhomie between Union Minister of Coal G. Kishan Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister holding the portfolio of Energy M. Bhatti Vikramarka during a meeting related to the coal mines auction was very much public as also their intentions, Mr. Rama Rao lamented.