KOCHI: The Cochin Shipyard Joint Action Front has demanded the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and the Southern Naval Command be protected considering the strategic position of these entities.
The Front comprising various trade unions on Friday staged protest against the Centre’s disinvestment move targeting CSL.
“The Centre’s claim about disinvestment, which is being carried out to raise Rs 2,700 crore for infrastructure development, is baseless. The CSL has been making profit since 1995. The company made a profit of Rs 275 crore in 2016-17. Besides, it possesses Rs 1,618 crore as reserve amount. It has also clocked a profit of nearly Rs 1,000 crore over the past five years. There is no need for the Centre to sell the shares of the public sector undertaking to raise funds for its development activities,” said Cochin Shipyard Employees Organisation (INTUC) general secretary M Liju.
He said the UPA Government had approved proposal to raise Rs 500 crore through bonds for CSL.
Cochin Shipyard Employees Federation (CITU) president P Rajeeve said instead of selling shares, the government must take a policy decision to give shipbuilding orders from Navy, Coast Guard, ONGC and SCI to the Cochin Shipyard.