JAC marks 2,000 days of protest against Vizag steel plant privatisation
The Joint Action Committee (JAC), a coalition of all-party workers' and people's organisations, celebrated the 2,000-day mark of its protest against the privatization of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Sunday. The protest began on April 2, 2021, in solidarity with workers at the Kurmannapalem plant and persisted throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
JAC leaders, including M. Jaggu Naidu and B. Nagabhushanam, reiterated their demands for the plant's preservation, including the allocation of captive mines, merger with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), reinstatement of contract workers, and full-capacity operation.
The leaders also accused the authorities of removing 6,000 contract workers and about 2,000 employees opting for voluntary retirement. They contended that the promised ₹11,400-crore package had not been utilized for workers' salaries, equipment repairs, or raw materials. JAC leaders further demanded that the plant's land not be granted to other organizations.
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