Steel plant workers intensify stir, seek full wages

The agitation for payment of full wages to workers of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant intensified on Friday, with thousands of employees, under the banner of Steel CITU, submitting signed petitions to the plant’s top management seeking immediate release of salaries without cuts.

Steel CITU General Secretary J. Ayodhya Ram, who led the protest, alleged that a series of ill-considered decisions by the top management had resulted in a decline in production. He said workers were still being paid on 2012 wage scales and officers on 2007 scales, and described the recent cuts to these already outdated pay levels as unjust and unsustainable. He said the reductions were placing severe strain on workers’ families and urged the management to review its decisions, adhere to labour norms, and ensure payment of full wages without delay.

Steel CITU President U. Ramaswamy criticised the management, stating that the plant was being turned into a testing ground for labour codes that are yet to be formally implemented. He maintained that workers had demonstrated their ability to sustain production, provided raw materials were supplied on time, and cautioned that continued neglect of workers’ concerns could lead to unrest.

Receiving the representations at the Steel Training Centre conference hall, General Manager (HR) Madhusudan said they would be placed before the higher management. He said he understood the seriousness of the issue and would convey the workers’ concerns, while emphasising the need to ensure that production activities were not disrupted.

Union leaders and representatives of various departments, along with a large number of workers, participated in the signature campaign and submission of petitions.