Panic Grips RINL Contract Workers Amid Downsizing

The removal of over 4,000 contract workers from service, who get around monthly remuneration of Rs18,000 to Rs24,000 and engaged in Steel Melter Shop, Smelter, Blast Furnace and other key departments is the first major step to downsize the workforce - Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao, president, VSEC, tells Bizz Buzz

Visakhapatnam: The Ukkunagaram township of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), witnessed tense moments as the contract workers with the support all the trade unions launching a huge protest against the decision to deny biometric gate passes to as many as 4,290 contract workers on Tuesday.

There has been a lot of disillusionment since management issued orders to discontinue a large number of contract workers on Friday evening. RINL with a production capacity of 7.3 million tonne (MT) engages 16,000 contract workers in addition to 12,600 permanent employees with the executives numbering 4,000. Due to deteriorating finances, the company stopped filling vacant posts since July 2019. Pay revision for the employees is due from January 1, 2017.

The contract workers with the support of permanent employees and unions staged sit-in protest at the Executive Director (Works) office demanding withdrawal or discontinuation of contract workers. RINL contract workers are categorised as skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers.

“The removal of over 4,000 contract workers from service, who get around monthly remuneration of Rs18,000 to Rs24,000 and engaged in Steel Melter Shop, Smelter, Blast Furnace and other key departments is the first major step to downsize the workforce,” Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress (VSEC) president Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao, told Bizz Buzz.

With a question mark hanging over their future, the downsizing exercise launched to trim the manpower size at RINL has turned into a bone of contention. There is buzz that as part of the revival package, the high-power committee constituted by the Ministry of Steel Secretary, has recommended Rs1,260 crore immediately to prune the size of workforce.

Amid apprehensions that the steel plant will be shut down after the closure of two of the three blast furnaces reducing the production capacity to one-third of 7.3MT due to severe working capital crunch and raw material insecurity, the unions as well as the Steel Executives’ Association (SEA), the officers’ body of RINL, have expressed their deep anguish over the notification issued for taking 100 executives in the first installment for deputation to NMDC Steel Ltd (NSL).

Further, RINL issued an order deputing 55 employees including three in the rank of Chief General Manager, General Manager and Deputy GM and 14 of AGM and Senior Manager rank to Forged Wheel Plant (FWP) at Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh following its acquisition by Modern Coach Factory (MCF) of Ministry of Railways. The fears over downsizing and privatisation aggravated with the drastic cut in production and withdrawal of allowances and perks by the management, Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress president Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao, told Bizz Buzz.

Meanwhile, in a video posted on social media, CITU-affiliated Steel Plant Employees’ Union honorary president J Ayodharam wondered why there is a need to reduce the staff size when there is a need to produce 21,000 tonnes of hot metal per day instead of 4,500 to 5,000 tonnes per day.

He wanted to know how the management has come to the conclusion to send 2,500 employees on Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), 500 on deputation to NMDC Steel Plant and some to SAIL and send render 6,000 contract workers jobless when there is a need to increase the permanent workforce from the existing 12,679 to 20,399 to produce full production capacity of 7.3 million tonnes. He said in the Parliament itself, the Minister concerned had admitted 5,000 posts lying vacant for a long time.

Going by the staffing pattern of SAIL, 2,793 employees are required to produce one million tonnes. At that rate, RINL now needs 20,399 permanent employees, he contended, stating that SAIL at present has 54,000 employees to produce 19.63 million tonnes per annum.