Workers' Unions Renew Call for Judicial Probe Into Deadly Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Accident

A coalition of trade unions and community organisations held a protest outside the Visakhapatnam Collectorate, demanding accountability for a fatal accident at the city's Steel Plant. The accident occurred on June 8 in the Steel Melt Shop, a critical part of the plant where raw iron is processed into steel, and claimed the lives of 10 workers. Eight workers died at the accident site itself, while two others succumbed to their injuries later while undergoing treatment.

The protest was organised by the Joint Action Committee, a coalition bringing together multiple worker unions and civil society groups, as part of a campaign being run across the state. Their central demand is for a judicial inquiry, meaning an investigation led by a judge rather than by the plant management or government officials, to independently determine what caused the accident and who was responsible.

Beyond the inquiry, the committee is pushing for substantial financial support for affected families. They want the state government to pay one crore rupees to the family of each worker who died, and fifty lakh rupees to each worker who was injured. This is separate from what the plant's management has already offered, which is twenty-five lakh rupees per deceased worker's family. According to the protesters, the state government has not announced any compensation of its own so far.

The committee also raised a demand that goes beyond compensation: they want the government to stop the planned privatisation of the Steel Plant. This reflects a long-standing concern among plant workers that private ownership could worsen job security and safety standards.

Speakers at the protest, including the committee's chairman and leaders from unions such as CITU and AITUC, accused both the central and state governments as well as the plant's management of negligence in allowing the conditions that led to the accident. They called for a thorough safety audit of the plant, upgrades to machinery and workplace infrastructure, and stronger safety protocols to prevent future accidents.

The gathering began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims before speeches were made. Afterward, the committee submitted a formal written memorandum outlining its demands to the district administration.

Union leaders made clear that this protest was not a one-off event but part of a sustained campaign. They stated the agitation would continue until the affected families receive what they consider fair justice, both in terms of compensation and accountability for the accident.