Visakhapatnam Steel Plant employees’ union approaches PMO over pending VRS dues
The Visakha Steel Employees’ Union has petitioned the Prime Minister's Office regarding unpaid dues for workers who took voluntary retirement. The union argues that the company is withholding funds despite achieving significant wage bill savings through the restructuring process.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights the financial struggles of retirees and the broader challenges of corporate restructuring in state-owned enterprises.
Visakha Steel Employees’ Union general secretary Padi Trinath Rao has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) over the inordinate delay in clearing the dues of employees who have opted for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) from the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).
Raising formal grievances through Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), Mr. Rao pointed out that RINL was saving over ₹500 crore annually—amounting to a reduction of ₹60 crore per month in the wage bill—following the exit of senior workforce. Despite these recurring savings, RINL has withheld the disbursement of pending VRS packages and Earned Leave (EL) encashment dues of approximately ₹75 crore.
Mr. Rao noted that the scheme was introduced as an operational condition tied to the Central government’s revival package for the plant. Employees with over 35 years of service surrendered their tenure to facilitate the corporate restructuring amid a severe financial downturn.
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