Human Rights Forum (HRF) condemns govt's renewed push to privatise VSP

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Human Rights Forum (HRF) strongly condemns the Government’s renewed push to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP). The recent call for Expressions of Interest (EoI) from private agencies to take over operation and maintenance of 34 critical departments - including blast furnace systems, slag granulation plants, mines, BF cooling and furnace equipment and charging units - is a clear step towards dismantling the public sector character of the VSP.

This is yet again a brazen attempt to hand over a national asset, built through the struggles and sacrifices of lakhs of people, to private cronies at throwaway prices. What is underway is plunder, it is nothing less than selling away the Steel Plant piece by piece.Handing over such critical operations to private contractors is not only anti-worker, it is unlawful. The Factories Act and various safety regulations clearly mandate permanent, trained and experienced workers in hazardous units.

Outsourcing these functions undermines safety, puts workers’ lives at risk, and endangers surrounding communities. For private contractors, profit alone dictates operations; worker safety will be compromised, and accountability in the event of accidents will be deliberately blurred. We are already seeing the deadly consequences of this approach in the frequent ‘accidents’ occurring with fatal regularity in industrial units across Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts, said KV Jagannadha Rao - HRF AP State president and VS Krishna - HRF AP&TG Coordination Committee memberWe have also seen in recent years how thousands of contract workers at VSP have been terminated and many regular workers and highly qualified officers are been eased out.

This is not just about jobs being lost. Visakha Steel is not merely an industrial unit. It is the living embodiment of a historic and sustained people’s struggle. Thousands of families gave up land and livelihoods and 32 persons lost their lives to make it a reality. To privatise it now is to spit on that legacy, expressed the HRF team The hypocrisy and doublespeak of ruling party elected representatives in the matter is truly shameless.

Time and again they have publicly postured as defenders of the Steel Plant but have only abetted privatisation moves. Their fondness for serving corporate interests, as evidenced glaringly in their recent cheerleading of the proposed Mittal steel plant at Nakkapalli, has never been more brazen and out in the open. Their betrayal of people’s trust is complete.The battle to save Vizag Steel is one to defend the very idea of a public sector that serves people, not private greed.

HRF believes that the Visakha Steel Plant has every potential to flourish in public ownership if given proper support, policy backing and investment. We demand the immediate withdrawal of all privatisation plans for VSP and reinstatement of contract and other workers. We call for wide ranging, democratic discussions by the government with unions on the running of the plant and immediate steps taken to supply it required raw material. There must be a clear, unambiguous and firm commitment by the Central and State governments to continue Vizag Steel as a public sector enterprise, the HRF team added.