RINL head’s Meeting With AP CM Sparks Buzz

Visakhapatnam: The sudden meeting of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) in-charge Chairman-cum-Managing Direc-tor A K Saxena with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Kadapa on Tuesday when the latter was busy with the ongoing three-day Mahanadu of TDP has fuelled speculation regarding the probable cause.

While the officials of RINL, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, described the meeting of the top brass with the Chief Minister as a ‘courtesy call,’ the trade unions describe it as a summons to know the ground realities following agitation by the contract workers. Tension gripped Ukkunagaram, the township of VSP, for the past few days following the decision of the management to not renew the gate-passes of 2,000 contract workers amid rumours that there are plans to downsize both permanent and contract workforce as part of revival plan.

Following a call by the trade unions, the permanent employees also abstained from work on a dawn-to-dusk strike on May 20 against the denial of gate-passes to 2,000 contract workers. The Government of India is now implementing a Rs.11,440-crore package to put cash-strapped RINL on a profit track.

The unions as well as the Steel Executives’ Association (SEA), which represents the officers, have been batting for mega merger of RINL, SAIL and NMDC Steel Plant at Nagarnar in Chattisgarh to make it a gi-ant steel PSU and to realise the target of National Steel Policy to produce 300 million tonnes by 2030.

The accumulated losses and debt burden, which was put at a staggering Rs.35,000 crore when the re-vival package was announced by Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy dur-ing a visit to Visakhapatnam, is said to have been reduced a lot following payment of Rs 7,000 crore, out of Rs 8,000 crore infused by the Centre towards revival of RINL.

“All of us for optimising production and to earn profits. But downsizing does not make sense as 2,000 contract workers out of total 15,000 have been denied gate passes and all those above 40 have been asked to produce fitness certificates from competent authorities. Among permanent workers, 1126 have been sent home on VRS amid the talk that the staff size will be cut further. We want measures to pep up our spirit instead of demoralising us,” Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress (VSEC) leader Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao told Bizz Buzz on Wednesday.