BALASORE: Production in Balasore Alloys Limited, one of the leading ferro-alloy producers of the country, at Balgopalpur Industrial Estate in Odisha's Balasore district stopped since 5 pm as all the furnaces were shut down on Sunday following labour unrest over regularization of contract labourers and fresh wage settlement.While palpable tension mounted in the premises of the plant, two platoons of police force has been deployed to avoid any untoward incident. The labourers, who gheraoed the plant till the last report came at 12 am, threatened not to join duty and paralyse the plant activities unless until the company authoritiues regularize at least 150 contract labourers as per the previous agreement and hike their wages.Sources said the plant management had assured the labour unions to regularize 150 contract labourers within a month in November last year. They alleged though more than five months have passed since the announcement, no tangible action has been taken yet to absorb them as regular company workers.A labour union leader Laxmidhar Mahalik said though several times they have raised the issue during meetings with the company top bosses, they have been avoiding it for the reason best known to them. “We wanted to discuss the matter with the group chairman P K Mittal who had come here to visit the plant. We were told that he was agree to have a talk with us and asked to wait at a particular place. But later in the afternoon, he left the plant through another exit way without informing us. The labourers got aggrieved when they knew the chairman cheated them,” he said.Meanwhile, the company authorities held a discussion with the union leaders for a amicable settlement. The labourers however demanded to discuss the matter only with the chairman. The meeting was in progress till the last report came in the night.Despite several attempts no official of the company was available for comment. District labour officer S K Choudhury said neither the plant management nor the labour unions have informed them about the labour unrest.The company is in the news since November last after the resignation of at least 18 heads of the departments including many directors and managing director opposing the alleged unethical functioning of the company chairman.Balasore Alloys, formerly known as Ispat Alloys Limited is part of the renowned Ispat group of Companies, promoted by the Mittals. The company was incorporated in 1984 at Balasore and at present it has five furnaces with total capacity of 57 MVA to produce 95,000 MT bulk Ferro Alloys per annum.
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