A tense situation unfolded at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Tuesday as workers staged a protest, storming the administrative building to demand the implementation of new wages. Gathering in large numbers, the agitating workers were prevented by the police from entering the building. They alleged collusion between the struggle committee leaders and the management.
The workers raised slogans, demanding wages on par with those of SAIL workers. They expressed their dissatisfaction, stating that there has been no salary increase for the workers in the past 11 years, while officers’ pay has remained stagnant for 16 years.
The employees on protest lamented that although an agreement was signed in 2012 to revise wages, it was only implemented for SAIL workers and not for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant workers. They also highlighted the lack of fresh recruitment to fill vacant positions, noting that over 150 employees would be retiring the following month.
Blaming the central government for the current crisis at the plant, the workers alleged that the Union Government had neither allocated funds nor allotted mines for the second phase of expansion. It is worth mentioning that the plant, which was profitable until 2015, began incurring losses thereafter. Citing this as a reason, the central government has proposed the privatization of the plant.