Visakha Steel Plant Contract Workers Launch Indefinite Stir
The protestors also called for the steel plant to be allocated its own mines and merged with the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) rather than privatised.
Visakhapatnam: Contract workers at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) launched an indefinite strike since Tuesday morning seeking solution to their long-pending demands. The strike comes amid growing tensions over the dismissal of contract workers and concerns about privatisation plans.
Reports said around 80 per cent of the workers abstained from their duties while a few posted in administrative departments attended the work. The workers, supported by a coalition of labour unions and public organisations, are demanding an immediate halt to what they describe as "illegal dismissals" of contract workers at the plant.
Chairman of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and All-Party Workers and Public Organizations' Joint Action Committee (JAC) M. Jaggu Naidu called for clarity from the state government regarding its position on the worker dismissals and demanded the withdrawal of state police forces currently deployed at the plant premises.
CITU Visakhapatnam district general secretary R.K.S.V. Kumar clarified that while a previously planned all-India strike scheduled for May 20 has been postponed to July 9 due to national developments, the local indefinite strike is proceeding with several key demands asking for stopping the dismissal of contract workers, resolving issues faced by permanent workers, cancelling the suspensions against union leader, withdrawing show-cause notices, payment of pending salaries and provision of housing rent allowance (HRA)
The protestors also called for the steel plant to be allocated its own mines and merged with the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) rather than privatised.
Earlier, CITU led rally was taken out from RTC Complex to Gandhi statue where the leaders addressed a gathering.
GFX:
DEMANDS:
Stopping illegal dismissal of contract workers.
Withdrawal of show-cause notices.
Payment of pending salaries.
Provision of housing rent allowance (HRA).
Cancelling suspension against union leader.
Allocation of own mines to the VSP.
Merger with Steel Authority of India Limited.
