VISAKHAPATNAM: The Visakhapatnam District Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Workers and People’s Organisations has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Visakhapatnam on June 21 to take part in International Yoga Day, officially announce the withdrawal of the proposed privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).
They have also sought immediate reinstatement of 4,000 contract workers, who were unjustly terminated, and urged the TDP-led NDA government to lift the police restrictions imposed on the ongoing hunger strike camp at Kurmannapalem Junction. These demands were raised at a roundtable meeting of the JAC held at the CITU office on Saturday. JAC chairman M Jaggunaidu and vice-chairmen M Manmadha Rao, B Nagabhushanam and N Kanaka Rao addressed the gathering.
The leaders pointed out that workers have been relentlessly protesting for over four-and-a-half years to protect the steel plant through a relay hunger strike at Kurmannapalem Junction. “Political leaders across party lines, including the present Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao, have participated in the strike in the past,” they said.
However, when the Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee attempted to rebuild the dilapidated protest camp, the coalition government sent police to prevent it, threatening to file cases against permanent and contract workers who sit in fast. Police presence continues at the site, which the JAC condemned as a violation of democratic rights.
The JAC criticised the TDP-JSP-BJP coalition for acting against democratic rights after assuming power, despite having championed those rights while in opposition. They demanded that the government allow peaceful protests without obstruction.
JAC leaders also questioned the government’s claim that the steel plant is overstaffed, which they said was used to justify the termination of 4,000 contract workers, many of whom had been working for nearly three decades. Despite this, new hires are being made, which the JAC said exposes the falsehood of the ‘excess workers’ argument. They alleged that rights won by workers over the years are being diluted, and under the pretext of TMC contracts, large private companies are being brought in, recruiting workers from other States, a move they said is part of a deliberate plan to privatise the steel plant.
The JAC demanded that the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Visakhapatnam MP, and Gajuwaka MLA take immediate steps to revoke the dismissal and reinstate all 4,000 contract workers. They also noted that despite coalition leaders claiming the plant’s sale has been halted, the Union Government has not officially announced this, and steps toward privatisation are still going on.
To press their demands, the JAC has announced a special protest campaign from June 16 to 21, targeting highways, industrial gates, and workplaces across the district. They urged workers and the public to actively participate and make the campaign a success.
The roundtable meeting was attended by RKSV Kumar, district CITU secretary, SK Rehman, AITUC leader, K Deva Sahayam, district AIFTU secretary, B Padma, district AIDWA president, and others.