Vizag Steel Plant Workers to Strike from May 20 Over Wage Delays, Staff Cuts

Over 20,000 workers of RINL-Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) will strike from May 20, demanding payment of arrears, reversal of the staff cuts, and allocation of captive mines to the plant.

Permanent staff will down tools for a day, while contract staff have announced an open-ended strike until they are settled.

The strike call comes after months of protests and silence from the management and government, according to former MP and CITU national general secretary Tapan Kumar Sen. He announced the strike plan at a press conference on Monday, flanked by CITU State general secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao, public sector industries co-convener Kumar Mangalam, and CITU State Secretary R.K.S.V. Kumar.

“Despite several appeals, there has been no action on pending salaries or the unjust dismissal of staff. Workers can no longer continue on just 25% of their wages,” said Sen. The situation, he said, has pushed both regular and contract workers to the brink.

Contract workers, who have continued operations despite the crisis, are now prepared to shut down production. “We’ve tried every peaceful means. Now, we have no choice,” said Narasinga Rao.

The plant has around 7,600 regular employees and 12,500 contract workers. According to J. Ayodhya Ramu, a leader of the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee, all of them are expected to join the strike. Only about 3,000 executive staff will be available to keep limited operations running on May 20.

Workers blame both the Centre and the State for inaction. Rao criticized the BJP, JSP, and TDP, allies in the NDA government, for failing to resolve the crisis. “Even the State government under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has turned a blind eye. They don’t consider the steel plant a State concern,” he said.

The strike marks a critical flashpoint in the long-running battle to save the iconic steel plant and secure fair treatment for its workforce.