With the Andhra Pradesh High Court directing Adani Gangavaram Port Limited (AGPL) to continue its negotiations with the striking employees, the port authorities on May 9 (Thursday) held talks, which, however, remained inconclusive, an official released said.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Director G.J. Rao and AGPL CEO Amit Malik had invited the workers for talks on May 8. But when they tried to enter the port for discussions, the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) employees did not allow them inside despite the High Court’s directive.
Though the meeting on Thursday was cordial, the R&R workers refused to resume operations, including supply of cargo to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), until all their demands were met, the release added.
In less than eight months, a section of R&R employees raised fresh demands, going beyond the signed agreement, and launched a flash strike on April 10. They stopped the movement of men and material, and blocked raw material supply to the critical power and steel units such as RINL, TANGEDCO, NTPC, NMDC, and SAIL.
“The port management made multiple efforts to engage with the striking workers. Following the High Court’s direction on May 3, Mr. Amit Malik held discussions on May 4, 6 and 9, requesting the committee members to allow entry of personnel to resume critical operations for supply of raw material to RINL. The committee members refused to do so and barred the entry of the port team, declaring that they will not allow port operations to be resumed,” the release said.
