There?s some more bad news ahead on the industrial production front?India?s coal output which has shrunk by around 2.9% between April and October this year, is set to take a further beating in January. The country?s major trade unions have issued a nationwide call for a three-day strike by the 5 lakh workers in the coal sector in the first week of January 2009. And as has been their want in recent years, the unions are timing the strike to coincide with a weekend?January 5, 6 and 7.

?A 14-day notice to this effect has been served on Monday to the public sector units in the coal sector, with copies marked to the Coal ministry and the Central Labour Commissioner,? said A D Nagpal, national secretary for the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), which has sponsored the strike call along with the Congress? Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), the Communist Party of India?s All India Trade Union Congress, the CPM?s Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), and the Bhartiya Janta Party-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

Pending wage negotiations in most coal PSUs since January 1 2006 is the key issue behind the workers? agitation, which was finalized after a meeting between union leaders at the INTUC office in Kolkata on December 13. Reacting to the strike call, Coal India authorities have called for a joint consultation meeting with workers? representatives in Bhubaneshwar on December 26 and 27.

When industrial production output registered negative growth this October, the category of Rubber, plastic, petroleum and coal products grew by 5.1%, but was down 2.9% between April to October.

India?s high-ash non-coking coal reserves are at 245 billion tonnes, and the average annual production rate is 361 million tonnes. As early as May 2008, Heavy Industries Secretary Satyanarayana Dash had said that Coal India authorities expected production to plummet to 302 million tonnes in 2008-09.

Considering that, a three-day strike would translate into a loss in coal output of at least 2.5 million tonnes, as per back-of-the-envelope calculations. This doesn?t take into account the fact that the strike starts on a Monday.

A cut in coal supplies will adversely affect the power sector as 64% of the country?s total installed energy capacity is dependent on thermal power generation based on fossil fuels.