News Desk, Durgapur: Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) has invited applications from employees belonging to 28 designated categories who are willing to be transferred to other subsidiaries of Coal India Limited (CIL), triggering discussions among employees and trade unions over the objective behind the move.
According to an official notification issued by the company, eligible employees desirous of serving in another Coal India subsidiary have been asked to submit applications in the prescribed format to the General Manager (HR/IR), ECL Headquarters.
To ensure the information reaches all eligible employees, ECL has directed Area Managers (HR) and HR In-Charge officers across all areas, units and establishments to prominently display the notification at conspicuous locations. The officials have also been instructed to communicate the contents of the notification directly to employees at the grassroots level to ensure maximum awareness.
While the notification describes the exercise as an opportunity for willing employees to seek transfers, it does not specify the reasons behind initiating the process or indicate the number of vacancies likely to be filled through the transfer drive.
The development has, however, prompted questions among sections of employees and union representatives. Some have sought clarity on whether the transfer exercise is part of a routine inter-subsidiary mobility process followed across Coal India or whether it is linked to ECL’s ongoing efforts to rationalise its workforce amid financial pressures.
Another concern being voiced in employee circles is whether vacancies created through such transfers could eventually be filled by contractual workers in certain operational categories, potentially reducing salary costs. However, the notification makes no mention of any such proposal, and there is no official confirmation that transferred employees would be replaced by contractual manpower.
ECL has not issued any statement linking the transfer process to cost-cutting measures, workforce reduction or contractual recruitment. The company has only invited applications from willing employees and outlined the procedure for submission.
Employee unions are expected to seek further clarification from the management regarding the purpose, scale and likely impact of the transfer exercise on manpower deployment across ECL’s mines and establishments.
