Steel Plant Workers Fume Over Salary Cuts, Benefit Reductions Amidst Privatization Fears

• Visakhapatnam Steel Plant employees face severe anxiety due to management's 'cost saving' measures, including salary and benefit cuts.
• Workers are receiving only half their salaries, leading to financial distress and loan defaults, while wage revision from 2017 remains pending.
• Management is implementing austerity measures: cutting officer perks, increasing township electricity charges, suspending PRP and bonuses, and banning EL encashment.
• PF and Thrift Society funds are not being remitted on time, halting emergency loans for employees.
• Despite a new blast furnace, production is low due to raw material shortages, with unions alleging deliberate central government obstruction and secret moves towards privatization via PPP models.