The Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), has floated nearly 20 tenders for various works, including small, medium and major, earlier this month, raising apprehensions among both the regular and contract employees about the veracity of the statements being made by the elected representatives, including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, that the government will never allow privatisation of the plant.
Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday, Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee convener J. Ayodhya Ramu said, “Out of the 20 tenders, the latest, worth ₹132 crore, pertains to the Operations & Maintenance works of Steel Melting Shop-1.“
“Currently, 690 employees — including 460 regular and 230 contract — from 15 agencies are working in the SMS-1 unit. What is the future of these workers? As per latest information, the plant has shown losses of ₹284 crore in November 2025. What is the motive behind it? Isn’t it an indication of the plan to privatise the steel plant?” he questioned.
Mr. Ramu said that by 2027, about 3,000 regular employees would retire from service. At present, nearly 9,400 regular employees were working in different departments. “There has been no recruitment for almost six years. A dharna will be staged at the steel plant’s administrative building on December 15 (Monday) to highlight these issues,” he said.
“As our protests are not yielding any results, we need to up the ante. A public movement is needed. We will strive our best to mobilise people,” Mr. Ramu added.
As per the latest tender, the scope of works includes comprehensive technical operation and maintenance of six continuous casting machines. The contract will cover all operational and maintenance activities to achieve the production of stable continuous steel blooms by casting 3.6 million tonnes of liquid steel per year. The monthly production will be 9,863 tonnes per day for 365 days (3.6 million tonnes in 365 days).
Published – December 14, 2025 08:13 pm IST
