New Delhi: Seventy-five retired coal mine employees, consisting of former chairmen, managing directors and directors of Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited, on Monday (March 23) wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi, urging him to address the issue of long pending pension revision, which they have repeatedly raised has remained unchanged without any revision since their retirement.“We have superannuated from Coal India Ltd. (CIL) / its Subsidiary Companies and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL), after serving the nation for decades, many of us at the level of Chairman and Directors. Our collective efforts, along with lakhs of coal workers, have helped build these institutions into pillars of India’s energy security, contributing over 55% of the country’s commercial energy needs and generating more than Ra 70,000 crores annually for the national exchequer,” read a letter, dated March 23, 2026.“The root of the problem is the fact that the pension fixed on the date of retirement, remains constant forever without any adjustment for rise in prices,” they said.The retirement age for coal mine employees is 60 years. Many of the protesting pensioners are in the age bracket of 70-90 years now, facing serious health problems and struggling to meet daily expenses.The Wire has previously reported that several top-level executives of these coal companies receive a pension of less than Rs 10,000 per month. The pension amount which, as per the Coal Mines Pension Scheme (CMPS), 1998, is to be reviewed every three years has not been revised for many employees since inception. Additionally, the 1998, 2007 and 2017 wage revisions for employees were also not applied to these pensioners.The pensioners have alleged that for decades, they have worked in some of the harshest and most hazardous conditions, “comparable only to those of jawans in the armed forces, to power the nation’s growth and ensure energy security”. Yet, many of these retired workers are now struggling to survive because the pension rates have fallen far behind the rising costs of living, medicines and basic necessities.“It is deeply concerning that pension in coal sector under CMPS-1998 has suffered due to corpus mismanagement and suboptimal investment decisions. These shortcomings have already been highlighted in the 12th Report of the Public Accounts Committee (Report No. 2193, presented on 18th March 2020). Though the Government had agreed to review and restructure the scheme, no meaningful corrective action has followed,” they have said.The Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO), the autonomous body which provides for the pension of coal sector employees, and falls under the Union coal ministry, has repeatedly told the pensioners that their pensions have not been revised due to a shortage of funds.In October 2025, 77 years after the 1948 Act’s enactment, the Union government announced an overhaul by proposing a draft Bill, titled the Coal Mines Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Bill, 2025.The Bill has not been tabled in the parliament yet.In March last year, Modi, hailing the country’s achievement of 1 billion tonne coal production, called it a “historic milestone” and “proud moment for India”, and recognised the relentless dedication and hard work of those associated with the sector.Highlighting this, the coal pensioners said that the “entire Coal Family of India felt proud” when this was declared. “Such proud moments are because of the dedication of today’s workforce in coal (tomorrow’s pensioners) and equally the contribution of the past workforce (today’s pensioners).”The pensioners have demanded the government to take immediate steps to substantially increase the coal pension so that retired miners and employees can “live their remaining years with dignity and security”.“It is an issue of justice, dignity, and national gratitude to those who spent their lives serving the nation from beneath the earth to keep the wheels of the economy running,” they said.They have also demanded the government to introduce a mechanism for periodic adjustment linked to inflation, ensure fair returns on contributions under CMPS-1998 and restore dignity and financial security for retired coal employees. Separately, they have also demanded that medical facilities be provided free of cost to retired employees and their spouses.Notably, the All India Association of Coal Executives (AIACE) and the All India Coal Pensioners Association (AICPA) have been raising these demands for years.“It is a matter of grave concern that while the coal sector – particularly Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited – has consistently contributed thousands of crores of rupees to the national exchequer in the form of taxes, royalties, and dividends, the very workforce that built and sustained this sector has been left neglected in their old age,” the associations said in a letter on Monday to Securities and Exchange Board of India, Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.The coal pensioners, led by AIACE and AICPA, have decided to stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 30 to raise their demands.