NALCO staff protest disinvestment; stop work

Angul, Jun 23: Production of aluminium in the smelter plant of NALCO came to a grinding halt today following a 24-hour cease-work by the employees to protest the Centre's decision to offload 10 per cent equity in the company.

National Aluminium Company (NALCO) Executive Director Uma Ballav Pattnaik said all the pot lines in the smelter plant were kept active though metal production was hampered.

Similarly all the six units of the company's captive power plant were running to keep up supply to pot lines, he added.

Nalco Coordination Committee President B C Ray claimed the strike was a total success and the company would incur a loss of Rs 20 crore per day.

He said the employees would intensify the agitation and stop the production if the Centre did not reconsider its decision.

Mr Patnaik said the employees have served the strike notice last night and about 153 officers and few contract workers would run the power plant and pots to avoid a total collapse of production.

He said all the six units of the captive power plant were running despite thin attendance of the employees due to the strike call.

Nearly 630 MW of power was generated in the power plant to maintain the pots, furnace and other electrical utilities.

About 5000 Nalco employees, including 1150 executives in power and smelter plant, have resorted to strike to protest the Centre's decision to disinvest 10 percent equity.

Mr Patnaik said the production of nearly 950 tonnes of finished products had almost stopped following the strike notice served by the agitating employees.

Meanwhile, Co-ordination Committee of Nalco Employees Association, Nalco Shramik Sangh and Nalco employees Forum today strongly condemned the decision of the Union government to disinvest Nalco and threatened to launch agitation programme to oppose the move. Nalco Employees Federation of India President Shibaji Pattnaik today alleged that the UPA government would disinvest this profit- making company under foreign pressure.

He told mediapersons here that the Centre had earlier disinvested 13 per cent of the company's equity and now with another 10 per cent, it wanted to give a clear indication that this profit making PSU would be privatised in due course of time.

Mr Patnaik said the Centre's argument in favour of ten per cent disinvestment was highly unjustified in view of the company's contention that it was quite capable of undertaking the expansion programme from its internal resources.

He warned that if the Centre did not reconsider the decision, people of the state would join the NALCO employees to launch a statewide agitation.

The NEFOI President said they would soon chalk out an agitational programme and go for a cease work at the company's corporate office here to voice their protest.

He said the NALCO's Refinery plant employees at Damonjodi were meeting today to decide the future course of action against the disinvestment.

UNI

Related Stories