Even as Coal India (CIL) works on its roadshows for the proposed Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) to divest 5% stake, trade unions feel the government will not go for the divestment since it would create a political stir across the eight coal-bearing states, affecting the ruling party.

Jibon Roy, general-secretary of the All India Coal Workers Federation, said coal minister Shriprakash Jaiswal was himself against the disinvestment, though there were pressures from the finance ministry to go ahead with it.

?If the government takes a decision to offer CIL?s 5% stake for sale, trade unions will go for a strike in the mines then. We are standing on our decision of holding a three-day strike on December 17, 18 and 19 but this decision will depend on the government?s future action,? Roy said. He said unions would be meeting at Ranchi on November 16 to review the situation after which the next course of action would be decided.

Although INTUC came out in the support of the government?s need for divestment and tried to distance itself from four other trade unions ? HMS, BMS, AIWCF and AITUC — on this issue, Roy claimed INTUC has joined the rank since the unions were not only resisting disinvestment, but also opposing the government?s plan of spinning off CIL and its subsidiaries into independent private sector companies.

An INTUC representative on the condition of anonymity said though SQ Zama, the general secretary of the INTUC-affiliated Indian National Mine Workers Federation (INMWF) was trying to take a different stand, he finally had to come to a consensus with the other four unions because there was a danger of INMWF getting divided on the issue. However, R Mohan Das, CIL?s director personnel, said it would be wrong to expect the unions suddenly agreeing to the government proposal. He said even if the unions would remain firm on their stand, they have already softened on their resistance.

He said CIL has appointed Deloitte to carry out a study on restructuring but that did not essentially mean that CIL would be spun off to private entities. The study was looking at opportunities of making CIL a stronger company by adopting the SAIL model where subsidiaries would cease to exist to come directly under the CIL control. Each subsidiary would function like a CIL unit with a chief executive officer managing it, replacing the chairmen and managing directors who are at present also on the board, Das said.