Joint action forum rises in protest against Cochin Shipyard disinvestment bid

KOCHI: The Cochin Shipyard Joint Action Front comprising various trade unions will launch protest campaigns against the Central Government’s disinvestment move targetting Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

Through this endeavour, the Central government intends to surrender profit-making Cochin Shipyard to private companies, said action front general convener P Rajeev.

The Centre’s claim about disinvestment being carried out to raise Rs 2,700 crore for infrastructure development is baseless, he said.

Cochin Shipyard 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. In other words, there is no need for the Centre to sell the shares of the Public Sector Undertaking to raise funds for its development activities.

Rajeev said private players like Reliance are eyeing a stake in CSL, the only shipyard in the country recording profit every year. He accused the Central government of colluding with private players to end the domination of CSL in the shipbuilding sector. This will ensure more orders for companies like Reliance Defence, he said.

Apart from policy-level pressure on CSL, the NDA government is also playing political tricks now, said INTUC leader M Lijo. He cited the noncooperation of BMS in the stir against disinvestment as one reason. Further, he said BMS had been actively taking part in all issues related to the shipyard except in this case.