Trade unions gea up for polls in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: With the announcement of elections for the recognised trade unions in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP)on February 5, all the major trade unions here are gearing up for the polls.  There are 24 trade unions registered in the VSP and among these,  INTUC, AITUC and CITU are the leading unions and other unions are joining with the major unions contesting in the elections.

In the 2015 elections, the Visakha Steel Employees Congress affiliated to the INTUC, won the elections. The three major unions have been drafting various strategies. The sources said that CITU and AITUC again are coming together to fight jointly against the INTUC.

The INTUC is claiming that even though the company was in financial crunch for the past three years, the trade union has successfully fought for fulling all the demands of the employees. 

The union claims that the it has been successful in getting 20 per cent HRA allowance sanctioned to the employees which in is a great achievement.  The INTUC also alleged that the CITU and AITUC, during their tenure had done nothing for the employees, and as such,  they do not have the right to ask for their votes.

However, the CITU and AITUC leader said that they should win the elections to protect the interests of the employees as the NDA government has announced that 10 per cent of the RINL shares would be disinvested. There are about 17,000 employees to elect the recognised union for a period of two years.