Visakhapatnam Harbour and Port Workers Union (AITUC) has demanded withdrawal of the Major Ports Authority Bill, which will pave the way for privatisation of ports.
At a demonstration organised by the Central trade unions at the Port AOB here on Friday, honorary secretary of the union and CPI State assistant secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy said that it was unfortunate that the rights of workers, achieved after prolonged struggles, were being taken away by the governments. He alleged that the Central and the State governments had failed in their duty to protect the interests of workers during the time of COVID-19 crisis. The ₹20 lakh crore economic revival package had benefited the corporates more than the common workers, Mr. Murthy said. He alleged that the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), which was among the top ports in the country, was in financial trouble due to the lopsided policies of the government.
He also demanded withdrawal of the new stevedore policy, which was detrimental to the interests of cargo workers. COVID-19 tests should be done for workers of VPT and they should be provided wages.
Union general secretary B. Ch. Masen, CITU leaders Padmanabha Raju and HMS leader D.K. Sarma were among those who participated.
At a separate protest organised jointly by the CITU and the AITUC at Maddilapalem on Friday, CITU leader A. Aja Sarma said that the State and Central governments should provide job security to workers. and they should be paid ₹30,000 each for loss of employment during the lockdown period. The pushcart vendors, workers at shops and auto drivers suffered a lot, but no assistance was given to them, he said.
The services of contract and outsourcing workers were terminated during the lockdown. He also criticised the government for failing to provide Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to sanitisation workers, police, ASHA workers and doctors deployed in containment zones. Labour laws were being suspended in some States.
CITU leaders V. Krishna Rao, A. Simhachalam, P. Venkata Rao, K. Kumari and J.R. Naidu and AITUC leaders Padala Govind, N. Madhu Reddy, Pilla Ramana, L. Govind and R.T. Naidu were among those who participated in the protest.
