Wages of RINL staff delayed due to cash crunch: Centre

New Delhi: Minister of state for steel Faggan Singh Kulaste told the Parliament that workers of divestment-bound RINL (Visakhapatnam steel plant) were paid their salaries in the first week of September and October, instead of the first day of the month, due to liquidity constraints.

The employees of the steel company are usually paid their salaries on the first day of every month, he said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

“Salary payments to the employees of RINL for the month are made on 1st day of the following month. In case of September and October 2023, the salary payments were made within the first week of the following month due to liquidity constraints,” the minister said.

According to the date revealed by the minister, the capacity utilisation and production has been falling over the past few months. To reduce the cost of raw materials, RINL has taken up with the ministry of coal supply of domestic coking coal and thermal coal.

The steel ministry has also requested the government of Odisha for allocation of iron ore block through reservation route.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in its meeting on January 27, 2021 had accorded “in-principle” approval of 100 per cent disinvestment of RINL.

RINL, under the ministry of steel, owns and operates 7.2 MTPA steel plant in Visakhapatnam. The company produces special steel, including wire rod coils, rounds, billets of different grades and dimensions. It is the first shore-based integrated steel plant in the country.

The government’s move to sell 100 per cent stake in the decades-old industry triggered a raw nerve in Andhra Pradesh prompting agitation by political parties as well as steel plant workers opposing the decision.