Workers' protest at Guj steel plant turns violent

Surat: Thousands of workers deployed by L&T at the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel plant project site at Hazira in Gujarat's Surat district on Thursday resorted to vandalism seeking wage hikes and reduction in working hours, police officials said.

Tear gas shells had to be lobbed and workers had to be detained as part of efforts to bring the situation under control and restore normalcy at the site, Zone VII Deputy Commissioner of Police Shaifali Barwal said.

Police tried to calm down the protesters but the matter soon escalated as workers resorted to stone pelting, the official added.

"We immediately took action. We detained 20 persons and FIRs will be registered against them. We lobbed more than 35 tear gas shells to control the situation," the DCP said. Several vehicles were damaged in the ruckus created by workers, police officials at the site confirmed.

According to company sources, around 10,000 workers have been employed by L&T at the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel site, which is undergoing capacity expansion to 15 million tonnes from existing 9 million tonnes. They said the trigger for Thursday's protests were viral videos showing a similar stir involving L&T workers deployed at the Indian Oil refinery at Panipat after a worker died due to a fall there. "A group of workers deployed by L&T at AM/NS India Hazira plant project site gathered today to raise some demands on their employer L&T. The L&T management is expeditiously handling the situation in discussion with the workers.