Latest news with #Ch.NarasingaRao
Hans India
a day ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Allocation of own captive mines serves as sole solution for VSP
Visakhapatnam: Even as the resumption of the Blast Furnace-III of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) is commendable, Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) members underlined that the real solution for the plant lies in allocating captive mines to it. Emphasising that the Central government should work on it at a media conference held in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, the committee's chairman Ch. Narasinga Rao stated that the VUPPC representatives demand that the plant be merged with the SAIL. 'It is apparent that the Central government is deliberately not providing captive mines and pushing the plant into losses. Due to lack of own mines, VSP has to spend an additional Rs 4,000 crore every year,' he expressed concern. Reiterating that the Central government decided to handover the operation and maintenance of production departments of the VSP to private companies, VUPPC chairman D Adi Narayana said, tenders have been invited from interested contractors by 12th July to handover the operation and maintenance work of two important departments of the plant-- the sinter plant and the raw material handling plant (RMHP) to private contractors. 'Likewise, the rest of the departments too will go through a similar fate. Permanent workers, contract workers and officers working now will not have any say in the production. The new contractors will hire their own men. The contractors will run the VSP for their own profits. We strongly condemn this policy of handing over all production units to contractors,' said D Adi Narayana. As the Central government decided to sell 100 percent of the VSP, the relay hunger strike at Kurmannapalem continued for the past 1,583 days. However, the relay hunger strike camp could not be continued as the camp collapsed on June 12 due to rain and the police have been preventing the hunger strike from taking place at the camp, suppressing thousands of contract workers' indefinite strike, VUPPC representatives V Srinivasa Rao and N. Ramachandra Rao lamented, demanding the state government to grant permission for the relay hunger strike camp. Expressing concern over the dismissal of about 5,000 contract workers in the past three months without giving any prior notice or compensation to them, the VUPPC representatives pointed out that permanent employees and officers with experience and skills are being forcibly asked to opt for VRS. The central government is trying to run the plant engaging contractors from other states, depriving locals of employment, they criticised.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee opposes privatisation of steel plant core units
The Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee has demanded that the Centre and the RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) management withdraw the decision to hand over the core units of the steel plant to private contractors for operation and maintenance. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, committee chairmen Mantri Rajasekhar, Ch. Narasinga Rao and D. Adinarayana alleged that a Union Minister Nitin Gadkari-backed private contracting company from Maharashtra has already been undertaking contract work of the Marketing Department. The contract company is not following the rules and regulations of the steel plant. Now, the government and the management have decided to give more core units to private contractors, like the company from Maharashtra, thereby indirectly conspiring to privatise the plant. The management has also issued an RoI (request of interest) inviting interested private companies to operate & maintain the Steel Plant's Sinter plant, and Raw Material Handling plant, they added. 'The leaders and workers of the Porata Committee are strongly opposing this step of handing over the steel plant core units to private contractors in a phased manner, thereby removing the existing regular and contract staff, which is a heinous act of the government. People should take note of all these things of the government, and the committee is also fighting against these decisions until the plant withdraw them,' said Mr. Narasinga Rao. Mr. Rajasekhar said in the last decade, there has been no recruitment in the plant, no increase in the salaries or promotions of the staff. He said that these are psychologically weakening the workforce forcing them to work under pressure and dissatisfaction. These were one of the reasons behind the increasing number of the staff showing interest in the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), he said. Blast Furnace-3 Speaking about the resumption of charging of Blast Furnace-3 on June 27, they said that they welcome the good step taken by the plant management to reopen Blast Furnace-3, but it is not a permanent or effective solution to revive the plant profitably or regain the glory of the plant. 'The immediate step or solution is to allot captive mines or merge the plant with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAI). Otherwise, there is no point in running the furnaces by spending thousands of crores of rupees additionally by depending on others to procure raw materials,' said Mr. Adinarayana.
The Hindu
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
All party trade unions give a call to make May 20 strike a success
The speakers at a seminar on 'Labour Codes', organised by the All Party trade unions, demanded immediate scrapping of the four labour codes, brought out by the Modi government to the detriment of workers and to favour the corporate groups. The seminar was held at Alluri Vignana Kendram, here, on Sunday (April 27). They alleged that during the last 11 years of BJP rule, the rate of unemployment in the country has been increasing due to the 'anti-worker' and 'anti-people' policies of the NDA government. The All Party unions have given a call to observe an All India strike on May 20. CITU State general secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao, INTUC State general secretary Mantri Rajasekhar, AITUC national vice president D. Adinarayana and CFTUI national president N Kanaka Rao were among those who spoke. They alleged that the Modi government was trying to water down the labour laws, which were achieved by workers following sustained struggles during the British rule. The government has already converted 29, of the 44 labour laws, into four labour codes. When these codes were implemented, the workers would lose their right to strike, to form a trade union, to bargain with the management for salaries and wages, and they could be fired anytime at the whims and fancies of the management. They would also lose their right to minimum wages, PF, ESI and social security. The speakers called upon all sections of the public to make the May 20 strike a success to thwart the 'anti-worker' and 'anti-people' policies of the Modi government.
