Privatisation talk unites rival unions of RINL
Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, during his last visit to Visakhapatnam, had indicated that privatisation was the only option to infuse funds to meet the future requirements of RINL, which has a land bank of 20,000 acre
image for illustrative purpose
Threaten to launch agitation unitedly to put pressure on Centre to shelve reported attempts for strategic sale
Visakhapatnam: In a rare show of unity, the rival trade unions of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Wednesday joined hands to launch an agitation unitedly to put pressure on the NDA Government to shelve reported attempts for strategic sale of the State-owned navaratna company.
They have decided to launch an agitation to maintain it as a 100 per cent CPSU as it was established after 'Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku' (Steel plant in Vizag is the legitimate right of people of Andhra) during 1960s under undivided Andhra Pradesh, which claimed 32 lives.
Following reports in a section of the press that the Union Cabinet which met post-Budget presentation on Tuesday had cleared the proposal to privatise RINL, which also has two subsidiaries in Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC) and Bisra Stone Lime Company (BSLC) following its strategic investment in Eastern Investments Ltd (EIL) with 51 per cent shareholding, the unions have decided to organise a huge dharna at GVMC Gandhi statue on February 5.
They have also resolved to stage lunch-hour protests and express their resentment over the reported bid by wearing black badges. There is no official confirmation yet on the decision for strategic sale though there has been speculation for a past few months following RINL board's clearance to introduce a voluntary retirement scheme to prune its workforce. It has 17,000 employees on its payroll.
The Centre had set in motion the process to list RINL by issuing an IPO after holding roadshows abroad in 2012. It was not taken up due to unfavourable market conditions and a spate of accidents denting the image of the company. RINL products are known under the brand name of Vizag Steel. It has a present capacity of 7.3 million tonne after its two-phase expansion from 3 million tonne at a total investment of around Rs 17,000 crore without government support.
Due to huge loan liability and high production cost as it does not have captive iron ore mines unlike other major steel manufacturers, its financial health is worsening. "We want good sense to prevail upon the government and merge RINL with SAIL and NMDC to make a giant company," recognised union president J Ayodhyaram told Bizz Buzz. Both SAIL and NMDC have captive mines and RINL has the required manpower benefiting all the three PSUs if their amalgamation is considered," he said. However, Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during his last visit to the city had indicated that privatisation was the only option to infuse funds to meet the future requirements of RINL, which has a land bank of 20,000 acres.
RINL incurred a net loss of Rs 1,369 crore in 2017-18, made a quick recovery by earning a profit of Rs 97 crore in 2018-19 and again suffered a loss of Rs.3,910 crore in 2019-20 crore. It clocked a turnover of Rs 16,618 crore in 2017-18, Rs 20,844 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 15,920 crore in 2019-20. The management hopes to do well in the later part of the year this fiscal due to increase in demand for steel products in domestic and overseas markets.
