India: NMDC’s iron ore production, dispatches hit by employee agitation

• Protest by workers due to demands related to wage revision
• 30-40% drop in daily production in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka

NMDC Limited, India’s largest iron ore producer, has been facing significant disruptions in its production and dispatches over the past two-three days due to an ongoing work-to-rule protest by the workers. The strike, driven by the ongoing wage settlement dispute between trade unions and the company management, has severely impacted operations.

What is work-to-rule protest?

A work-to-rule protest involves employees adhering strictly to official procedures without engaging in any extra effort, leading to a slowdown in operations without a full-scale strike.

Impact on operations

Despite the ongoing protests, NMDC is working to resolve the issue and resume normal production. However, the protest has led to a 30-40% reduction in daily iron ore production at NMDC’s Kirandul, Bacheli, and Donimalai mining complexes, an official press release from the miner in its BSE handle shows.

Talking about the issue, a source mentioned, “The protest by the workers has impacted operations in both Chhattisgarh and Karnataka over the past two to three days. While both production and dispatches have been hampered, they have not come to a complete halt. Wage negotiations are ongoing, and there is optimism that the issue will be resolved soon.”

As reported earlier by BigMint, NMDC’s iron ore production in February 2025 stood at 4.62 million tonnes (mnt), marking a 9% decline from 5.10 mnt in January. Similarly, iron ore sales dropped 11%, falling to 3.98 mnt in February from 4.48 mnt in the previous month. However, on a cumulative basis, production in the April 2024 to February 2025 period showed a marginal 1% increase, reaching 40.49 mnt compared to 40.24 mnt during the same period last year.

Path to resolution

Despite these challenges, NMDC has reassured that its assets are fully insured and claims that the financial impact remains negligible for now. The company further added in its BSE filing that the conciliation proceedings with the Chief Labour Commissioner in New Delhi is scheduled for 17 March.