RSP contract workers to go on 72-hour strike from Sept 11

Rourkela: Workers of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) owing allegiance to the Rourkela Contract Workers’ Union (RCWU), affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), will go a 72-hour strike from September 11 to press their demand for the fulfillment of their six-point charter of demands.

The six demands are payment of remuneration and variable dearness allowance (VDA) as per Central government norms, payment of minimum wages to contract workers at the same rate as paid to regular employees of RSP, three months’ notice and wages in case of retrenchment, provision of facilities due to workers under the Factory Act as well as the Contract Workers; Regulation Act, CLC passes for contract workers for entry into RSP premises and payment of a monthly incentive of Rs 1000 to each worker engaged in the modernization work of RSP.

Briefing newsmen here yesterday, president of RCWU and state general secretary of CITU Bishnu Charan Mohanty said three-day strike by RCWU workers will be capped by a state level convention of contract workers in Bhubaneswar on September 14 where they would demand provision of 35 kg of rice at Rs 2 a kg and payment of minimum wages of Rs 10,000 to each contract worker.

Though RSP is a PSU, it had denied nearly 15,000 contract workers their rightful dues and facilities. Besides, about 2000 contract workers engaged in the modernization of the plant were being treated as non-CLC workers and denied the facilities due to CLC workers. RSP, a unit of SAIL, should provide the same facilities that are provided to other central PSUs like Nalco, BHEL and NTPC, Mohanty said.

A convention of contract workers was held yesterday at Shramik Bhawan here to mobilize support on the above demands. The convention was addressed, among others, by Mohanty, RCWU secretary Biman Maity, Jahangir Ali, Shrimanta Behera, Prabhat Mohanty, Rajkishore Pradhan and Basanta Nayak.