JAC condemns Palla for his ‘VSP ghost employee’ remarks

All Party Trade Unions, Praja Sanghala JAC chairman M. Jaggunaidu, third from right, addressing the media in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: V. RAJU

Visakhapatnam District Trade Unions and Civil Society JAC have strongly condemned the remarks of TDP Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao against the permanent and contract employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

Terming the remarks as humiliating and irresponsible, JAC chairman M. Jaggunaidu and others at a press conference on Tuesday said Mr. Srinivasa Rao had claimed that nearly 450 ‘ghost employees’ have been drawing lakhs of rupees as salaries without attending work.

“Mr. Srinivasa Rao has been the leader of the recognised employees’ union of the VSP for the past three years. He is now an MLA and the party he represents is in power in the State and an alliance partner at the Centre. He should release the names of the alleged ghost employees,” the JAC leaders demanded.

Reacting to Mr Srinivasa Rao’s comments that the VSP would be forced to close down in four to five years if the ₹11,440 crore package given by the Centre is spent on the salaries of the employees, Mr. Jaggunaidu questioned how the workers would work without salaries.

“The Centre has taken back ₹500 crore of the ₹11,440 crore package in the name of GST. Another ₹9,346 crore has been deposited to clear the bank loans and other expenditures. The Centre has put a condition that the package amount should not be used for salaries or procuring raw materials. The package seems to be an exercise to clear all the debts of the VSP and privatise it,” he said.

Mr. Jaggunaidu refuted the claims that the VSP has excess workers and said 18,000 permanent and 20,000 contract workers have been engaged to produce 7.3 million tonnes of steel. “Now, there are only 10,943 permanent employees and fewer than 10,000 contract employees,” he said.

The JAC said that the TDP, the Jana Sena Party and the BJP have fought against the oppression in the State when they were in Opposition. “The same parties are now suppressing the agitations of the employees. The police are resorting to threats and arrest of employees union leaders,” he alleged.