Kozhikod

MP seeks government intervention to address woes of Steel Complex staff

M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, has sought the intervention of the Ministers in charge of Industries and Power departments to address grievances related to the interim relief of the employees of the Kozhikode-based public sector unit SAIL-SCL, popularly known as Steel Complex.

Mr. Raghavan also requested the government to be lenient on the company’s electricity bill dues worth crores of rupees.

In a letter to the Ministers, he said the employees had not been getting interim relief for the past five months, with the State government claiming that there was no production in the industrial unit. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has put the employees in dire straits. There is no production at the plant at Cheruvannur for around four years now, and 48 permanent staff and around 150 contract employees are staring at an uncertain future.

The Congress MP also pointed out that the company owed ₹3.63 crore to the Kerala State Electricity Board as fixed charges, though production was stopped in 2016. The Finance Director, KSEB, has directed in an order on August 27 to take back the special power facilities set up at the plant and cut power supply. Mr. Raghavan said if the equipment was taken back now, it would be difficult to reinstall it later.

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