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Surat: A huge uproar erupted early on Thursday morning at Hazira project site of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS) when almost 5,000 workers employed by Larsen and Toubro (L&T) assembly of almost 5,000 workers came out to protest over wage related issues. What started as a peaceful demonstration to ask the management a pay raise and an understanding on the working hours turned violent within a short period of time causing destruction of vehicles, vandalism within the plant grounds and a heavy police response.
What Exactly Happened?
The workers, according to the sources and authorities, had gathered at Hazira site during the early hours demanding higher wages. There were also workers who complained of not being able to work long hours and delays in handling their demands. The demonstration was rather peaceful at first, as employees were chanting slogans and demanding meetings with managers.
However, with the rise in tensions, a part of the crowd supposedly got aggressive. Approximately 10 vehicles that were parked within the plant grounds were lost to damages which included three fire-fighting vehicles. There were four motorcycles that were allegedly burnt. Cabins in offices were ransacked and high tech security systems placed at exit and entry gates were destroyed. This state of affairs caused a panic in the industrial region, and the functioning of the plants was interrupted.
When the situation got out of control, an enormous police force arrived at the location. Authorities claimed that they gave warnings to disperse several times but when the crowd failed to wind down, the police used the lathicharge. Over 40 rounds of tear gas were deployed in order to put the situation at bay.
To date, more than 25 employees have been arrested on allegations of rioting, destroying both state and privately owned property as well as creating anarchy. It has been established that police have taken control of the situation and that tight security has been imposed both in and around the plant to preclude any more occurrences.
AMNS Clarifies Its Position
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India in an official explanation claimed that the employees who participated in the violence do not work directly at AMNS. The company indicated that they are contract workers whom L&T engage to work on the basis of the project at Hazira location.
AMNS management stressed that it is available with the L&T and local authorities in order to return to normalcy. The company also added that it is also determined to be safe and disciplined in its premises.
L&T’s Role and Worker Concerns
Materials show that the protesting employees were seeking an increment in their pay arguing that their salaries were not matching the increase in the cost of living. There were also complaints by some workers that they were unhappy with workload and work hours. Nevertheless, no official report of what exactly the wage dispute was has been given by L&T.
The management of L&T is reported to be negotiating with the representatives of workers to settle the issue. Authorities have urged the employee to be peaceful and not to destroy their property.
The Bigger Picture
Hazira is a major industrial centre of AMNS and major steel production plants. Any instability in such a large industrial plant prompts the issue of communication between workers and management and the contract labour practices.
Currently, the government is enquiring about the role of a wage grievance turning into a violence and whether there are any external factors that triggered the violence. There are CCTV shots being examined on the inside of the premises.
As the normal functioning is slowly taking off, the incident has reverted the sensitive nature of labour issue in the large infrastructure and steel projects.
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