Visakhapatnam Steel Plant union leaders demand new wages

Visakhapatnam: Representatives of all-party trade unions demanded the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) management implement the new wages being enforced for the steel workers in eight states across the country. In support of their demand, they staged a dharna at Telugu Talli Junction here on Tuesday from 8 am to 4 pm.

Speaking on the occasion, trade union leaders J Ayodhya Ram, Mantri Rajasekhar and D Adinarayana alleged that the VSP management showed an authoritarian attitude towards the economic interests of the workers and as per the directives of the Union government.

They made it clear that it is the management's responsibility to implement similar wages as implemented by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). They explained that the workers were aiming towards achieving a turnover of Rs 30,000 crore by the end of this financial year. Through this, Rs 5,000 crore will be paid to the Central and state governments in the form of GST, they added.

Further, they said that there is a high possibility to earn up to Rs 1 crore as a profit to the VSP. Trade union leaders alleged that the Union government is trying to handover the VSP to the private management. They made it clear that it would not be allowed to happen under any circumstance. The Central government's conspiracy towards the VSP would be brought to the notice of people across the state and as a part of it, collection of one crore signatures would be initiated, said the VSP leaders.

The trade union leaders said that the delay in the implementation of the new wages and privatisation of VSP will be strongly opposed and they condemn them through the strike scheduled on January 31.

Representatives of the all-party trade unions Gandham Venkata Rao, Y Mastanappa, Varsala Srinivas, VS Rama Mohan Kumar, D Suresh Babu, and other leaders, secretaries of various departments and a large number of workers were present during the dharna.