CPM calls for withdrawal of VRS proposal at Visakha Steel Plant
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2024-10-23 16:50 GMT
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh state committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has vehemently opposed the proposed Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) by the management of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and demanded its immediate cancellation. CPM state secretary V. Srinivas Rao stated that the VRS scheme, presented under the guise of a survey, is a deceptive move by the central government aimed at worsening production and pushing the plant into further losses.
Srinivas Rao urged the immediate withdrawal of the VRS proposal and called on all employees to resist the scheme, describing it as a "deceptive trap" set by the government. The party expressed concern that implementing the VRS would severely undermine production, especially when a new blast furnace is set to be inaugurated as part of ongoing worker efforts to boost output.
Rao further pointed out that over 5,000 permanent employees and officers have retired in the last five years, with an alarming lack of recruitment, which is typically an annual process. He condemned the VRS as a deliberate attempt to force workers out and stressed that this move forms part of a broader strategy by the central government to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. The CPM has urged the state government to pressure the central government to abandon the VRS proposal, stressing the importance of protecting jobs and enhancing production at the steel plant.
Rao further pointed out that over 5,000 permanent employees and officers have retired in the last five years, with an alarming lack of recruitment, which is typically an annual process. He condemned the VRS as a deliberate attempt to force workers out and stressed that this move forms part of a broader strategy by the central government to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. The CPM has urged the state government to pressure the central government to abandon the VRS proposal, stressing the importance of protecting jobs and enhancing production at the steel plant.