Massive Awareness Program for 42,000 Employees at All Mines and Departments
Massive lunch to 70,000 Employees including outsourced employees
PEDDAPALLI, OCTOBER 12, 2024: Following the advice of Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has launched an extensive awareness initiative to motivate its workforce to work more efficiently to reduce the cost of production. This two-day programme, titled “Ujwala Singareni: The Role of Employees,” involved meetings across 40 mines and departments, reaching over 42,000 employees. A grand meal for 70,000 workers, including outsourced employees, was organized as a show of unity and collective effort.
The programme, conducted on Thursday and Friday, aimed to address the company’s current financial situation, encourage productivity, and outline steps to make SCCL more competitive. The sessions emphasized the importance of reducing coal production costs to ensure the company’s sustainability in a challenging market.
Focus on Productivity and Cost Efficiency
Under the leadership of SCCL’s CMD Mr N Balram, these sessions were designed to inform employees without disrupting their duties. Presentations highlighted key challenges, including the company’s higher coal selling price compared to competitors like Coal India and private companies, which could lead to a loss of market share. The core message: increasing production is crucial to lowering production costs, safeguarding the company’s future.
Employees were educated on the efficient use of machinery, time management, and the importance of adhering to duty hours. The sessions also explored the need for expansion into other minerals and energy sectors like solar power, green hydrogen, thermal power, and pumped storage plants, as a hedge against future declines in coal demand.
The Future of Singareni Depends on Workers’ Efficiency
The management stressed the importance of worker efficiency to strengthen the company’s financial health. Videos featuring Telangana Chief Minister K. R. Reddy and Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka reinforced this, praising the dedication of Singareni workers and highlighting their critical role in ensuring the company’s survival. CMD N. Balram’s message focused on the need to improve workplace culture and boost productivity.
Detailed discussions followed the presentations, revealing the financial status of each mine and the steps needed to overcome losses. Workers were urged to fully utilize their duty hours, maximize productivity, and operate machinery efficiently.
Maximizing Machinery Utilization in Open Cast and Underground Mines
A significant point raised was the underutilization of machinery in both open-cast and underground mines. In open-cast mines, machinery that should be operating for at least 20 hours daily is currently used for only 12 hours, resulting in lower production. Employees were encouraged to extend this to 18 hours to boost production by 40 percent.
In underground mines, the situation is more critical, with the cost of producing a ton of coal reaching ₹10,000, while the selling price stands at only ₹4,000. This ₹6,000 loss per ton is attributed to machinery operating for only 7–8 hours a day, rather than the recommended 14 hours. Workers were urged to increase machine utilization to reduce losses and improve profitability.
Additionally, the number of coal blasts in underground mines should be raised from 40 to 50 per day to enhance production. Collective Lunch and Involvement of Ministers, MPs, MLAs and Union Leaders, Local Minister D Sridhar Babu, MLAs, and union leaders participated in the awareness sessions. Coal belt MPs’ Raghurama Reddy, Gaddam Vamshikrishna, MLAs Kunamneni Sambasivarao, Gaddam Vinod, Dr Gaddam Vivek, Prem sagar Rao, Gandra Satyanarayana Rao, Koram Kankaiah and Payam Venkateshwarly participated and addressed the workmen. The SCCL CMD also attended the conference held at Sathupally.
Following the awareness meetings, communal lunches were held across all 40 mines and departments, including hospitals and workshops. This initiative marked the first time such extensive meetings and lunches have been organized on such a scale within SCCL. Employees were encouraged to offer suggestions during the sessions, fostering a sense of ownership in the company’s future.
This programme has sparked serious reflection among the workforce, motivating them to contribute actively to improving SCCL’s prospects and ensuring a brighter future for the company.
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