The Central Committee of Odisha Coal Mazdoor Sangh (OCMS) affiliated to the Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC) on Saturday unanimously elected former Assembly Speaker Kishore Chandra Patel as OCMS president.
A meeting of OCMS which was held at Brajrajnagar was presided over by general secretary Souvagya Pradhan.
The Mahanadi Coal Fields limited (MCl) has a worker strength of 22,000 of which 12,000 are affiliated to OCMS, the trade union sources claimed. In July last, the post of president of OCMS central committee was left vacant due to the unexpected demise of former MP and its president SB Panigrahi. Since then a search was made to find a new president to guide the largest trade union of MCl.
Thanking all MCl workers, Patel said that he is committed to the interests of the workers and assured that he will put all his efforts in ensuring their well being. Vice presidents of the committee Bijesh Sharma, Alok Panda and loknath Nanda were present.