Indian state-controlled coal mining company Coal India Limited (CIL) is mulling the option of increasing the price of all grades of coal, including coking coal, to offset higher wage bills following the signing of a new agreement with trade unions, sources said on Monday, November 20.
The sources said that the new wage agreement signed between CIL management and trade unions will lead to an increase in the wage bill to the tune of $892 million in a full year and this could be absorbed only through an increase in the price of coal across all grades.
However, no indication is available on the size of the hike being considered by the largest coal miner in the country with the sources saying that the fixing of a new price is an elaborate exercise involving various grades of coal as well as location of mines.
However, the sources said that increasing the price of coking coal will not face much resistance from user industries in the steel sector as imported coking coal prices have also been firming up over the past few months.
CIL had increased prices by an average of 10 percent across grades in May this year.