CIL, SCCL employees to get 24 pc hike in salaries

NEW DELHI: State-run coal firms Coal India Ltd and the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd will see emoluments of its nearly five lakh non-executive employees going up by 24 per cent with retrospective effect from June 2006.

The eighth National Coal Wage Agreement for five years was signed last evening between the management of the two coal PSUs and five leading trade unions (INTUC, AITUC, BMS, HMS, and CITU) representing the employees.

"Coal India will have to incur a financial liability of Rs 8,500 crore on account of the increase in emoluments of its work force," CIL Chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya told reporters here.

The major highlights of the agreement include one additional increment for those who are to retire by the end of the wage agreement period in 2011, and increase in gratuity to Rs 10 lakh from present 3.5 lakh for the workers.