The company says that it needs to provide the bonuses to prevent it from losing key salaried officials before it emerges from bankruptcy. However, the move is widely condemned by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which claims the company is unfairly denying workers health care coverage.

UMWA president Cecil E. Roberts said on Wednesday the bonus proposal showed "callous disregard" for union-represented workers and retirees.

“This is nothing more than a finger in the eye of those retirees and widows, as well as the active workers who are looking at the destruction of decades of collective bargaining improvements,” he said.

“These workers put their health on the line and put their lives on the line every single day to produce coal.”

According to a statement from Patriot Coal, the company's CEO and executive team will not participate in the retention and annual incentive plans filed on Wednesday.

"The purpose of these plans is to motivate key employees to remain with Patriot and to achieve financial and operating performance goals that are essential to the company becoming viable through reorganization.," Patriot stated.

"A successful reorganization is critical to Patriot's survival and to saving 4000 jobs."

Patriot mines for coal in West Virginia and Kentucky and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last July.

The company said it employed nearly 4000 people, about 1700 of whom were union members.

On Wednesday, 1000 active and retired coal miners and their families marched on Peabody Energy headquarters in St Louis to demand that Peabody, Arch Coal and Patriot Coal meet their obligations to retired workers. There were 10 arrests.