New Delhi: Thousands of workers of state-owned RINL and NMDC boycotted work for a second day Tuesday as part of the nationwide strike. It affected steel production and mining operations, a union leader said.
Rajesh Sandhu, secretary of NMDC Sanyukt Khadaan Mazdoor Sangh said all non-executive workers have boycotted work to join the two-day nationwide strike which will end Wednesday morning.
“Intensifying their protest against government policies, NMDC workers stopped state transport buses in Chhattisgarh for about six hours from 5.00am,” Sandhu said. He added that NMDC would incur a loss of about Rs 200 crore due to the protests.
Over 10,000 non-executive employees are observing the protest at NMDC mines and offices in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Sandhu informed.
J Ayodhya Ram, president of the Steel Plant Employees Union (CITU), said workers at the RINL plant in Visakhapatnam did not report for work Tuesday as well.
Around 8,000 non-executive Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) workers out of 11,000 are taking part in the ongoing nationwide strike called by central trade unions. He further said production has been affected at the unit as only one furnace out of three is functional at the plant in Visakhapatnam. One is already under maintenance, the second one has been shut down as a precautionary measure.
In a statement, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) said, “There was no impact of the strike on its production as the attendance at all its units was normal.”
A total of 10 central trade unions Monday began a two-day nationwide strike to protest against the government’s alleged wrong policies that are affecting farmers, workers and the general public. The strike notices have been given by the unions in various sectors, such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks, and insurance.
SAIL and RINL are steel making companies under the Ministry of Steel. NMDC is the country’s largest iron ore mining company under the ministry.