• First COVID-19 vaccine dose to be completed at the earliest and hence subsidiaries are advised to set up adequate number of vaccination centres, said CIL management

• The cost incurred is to be borne by each coal subsidiary on their own

New Delhi: State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) has issued an advisory to all its subsidiaries to tie up with private hospitals and ensure first dose of COVID-19 vaccination for its employees, contractual workers and eligible dependents at the earliest. In the official order, reviewed by PSU Watch, CIL's Executive Director (Medical) has said, "Subsidiaries of CIL, including CIL headquarters, may tie up with nearby private hospitals for ensuring vaccination of its employees, contractor workers (sic.) and eligible dependents."

The order comes weeks after PSU Watch reported that All India Association of Coal Executives (AIACE) principal general secretary PK Singh Rathor wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May, urging the government to prioritise coal sector employees for COVID-19 vaccination.

First dose of COVID-19 vaccine should be administered at the earliest: CIL

The CIL management has directed its subsidiaries to ensure that the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is administered to all employees at the earliest. "First dose to be completed at the earliest and hence subsidiaries are advised to set up adequate number of vaccination centres to complete the first dose of vaccine. They are also advised to plan for the second dose of vaccine as per the planned schedule drawn in line with Government guidelines as revised by the Government from time to time," said the CIL advisory. 

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The tie-up with private hospitals is to be done in addition to the existing health facilities set up by CIL and its subsidiaries for COVID care. The cost incurred is to be borne by each coal subsidiary on their own. 

The backdrop

In April, power sector employees were designated by the government as frontline workers and a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination, however, employees in the coal sector in PSUs like Coal India Ltd (CIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) were not declared a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination. This is despite the fact that coal sector employees, just like their power sector counterparts, have been engaged in essential services through the course of the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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