Production staff will be paid based on performance, while non-production employees will receive salaries calculated from the “Plant Average.”
Published Nov 17, 2025 | 1:18 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 17, 2025 | 1:18 PM
Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. Credit: x.com/ncbn
Synopsis: Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu has sparked outrage at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant with remarks branding workers idle and the plant a “white elephant”. Hours after management tied November salaries to stiff production targets, Naidu’s jibes were seen as insulting. Unions accuse him of betraying his 2021 anti-privatisation stance, demanding withdrawal of the circular and an end to worker vilification.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has walked straight into the eye of a political and industrial storm, after his recent comments on the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited–Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL-VSP), triggered outrage among employees and unions.
At a time when tempers were already running high over a fresh management circular linking salaries to production, Naidu’s remarks poured fuel on the fire, with workers accusing him of mocking and belittling those who keep the plant’s furnaces alive.
What should have been a routine address on industrial revival turned into a lightning rod for controversy, as Naidu, known for his sharp tongue and managerial rhetoric, used phrases that many interpreted as jeers aimed at an already distressed workforce. Critics say his tone was less about boosting morale and more about rubbing salt into wounds.
Naidu, during a news conference on the conclusion of partnership summit on Saturday, 15 November, spoke on transforming VSP into a profitable enterprise, but his choice of words left employees feeling as though they were being blamed for the plant’s long-standing structural troubles.
More than a dozen remarks stood out like sore thumbs, provoking a storm of reactions across trade unions, political quarters, and social media.
He asked whether workers wanted VSP to “remain a white elephant by not working” — a statement that unions say paints thousands of hardworking employees as freeloaders. He insisted the plant must run “on professional lines,” and reminded that the Centre had given “Rs 12,000 crore” to support the plant, rhetorically asking, “Isn’t it money or not?”
While he assured that there was “no question of privatisation,” Naidu quickly turned his fire on protesters, saying that some people “want to stir the pot” for political gain. His analogy about public safety — “Would you give your daughter in marriage to someone from a town full of bandits?” — was seen as a thinly veiled insult, comparing critics to unruly troublemakers.
Naidu also recalled invoking the PD Act in the past to bring discipline to a chemical factory, remarking that “everything is fine now,” a reminder that did little to calm nerves at a time when workers are already jittery about job security.
Continuing in the same vein, the Chief Minister questioned the work culture at the plant: “It is not right to say: give us money, and we do not work.”
Investors were making a beeline for Vizag, he said, because they “have faith in us,” a comment unions interpret as implying that the employees themselves are the weak link in the chain.
Naidu, who took credit for past achievements—including enabling rooftop power in a state that once suffered widespread outages—warned against “planting a seed and water it to become an issue.” He reiterated that VSP was a “gold mine” but insisted it could not run at a loss. He vowed to review the plant’s progress every three months.
Earlier in the day before Naidu made the comments on 15 November, RINL’s HR Department issued Misc. Circular No. 03/2025, fundamentally altering how salaries would be paid beginning November 2025. For employees already battling uncertain production levels, the circular landed like a bolt from the blue.
Citing declining output and financial strain, the circular mandates that salaries will now be tied to capacity utilisation and unit-wise targets. For November 2025, targets are:
Sinter Plant: 24,000 tons of gross sinter per day
Blast Furnace: 19,000 tons of hot metal per day
SMS (SMS-1 & 2): 125 heats per day
CO & CCP: 370 pushings per day
Rolling Mills: 13,500 tons of finished products per day
Marketing: 15,000 tons of sales oer day
Production staff will be paid strictly based on performance, while non-production employees will receive salaries calculated from the “Plant Average.” The Material Management Department, crucial for raw material procurement, must ensure receipt of 27 rakes of coke each month or face salary revisions downward.
If Naidu thought his words would spark a sense of urgency, they instead hit the workforce like a slap in the face. The Steel Plant Joint Action Committee (JAC) minced no words: “We are working and taking salaries. It is Chandrababu Naidu who took salary without attending Assembly in 2022. If he cannot stop privatisation, let him remain silent. Do not insult employees.”
Unions accused the management of playing “an ongoing conspiracy” against workers, arguing that the new salary formula “exists nowhere else in the country.” Production, they say, depends heavily on raw materials, machinery, and policy decisions—factors beyond the control of shop-floor employees.
They insist on “salary as per regulations for an 8-hour duty” and demand that the circular be withdrawn immediately. Many point out that production setbacks stem from supply bottlenecks and policy delays rather than leisurely work habits.
Adding another twist to the tale is Naidu’s own record. As leader of the Opposition in 2021, he positioned himself as a frontline defender of VSP. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging a rollback of privatisation plans and invoked the historic slogan “Visakha Ukku, Andhrula Hakku.” TDP leaders even declared their willingness to resign to protect the plant.
Today, that earlier crusade has come back to bite him. CPI, CPI(M), and YSRCP leaders have accused Naidu of doing a complete U-turn after returning to power. Some cited cases filed against protest leaders; others questioned how Naidu could be trusted given TDP’s alliance with the BJP, the very party pushing for disinvestment. CPI(M) leaders reminded that as recently as August 2025, TDP and Jana Sena “did not lift a finger” when contract workers were terminated at the plant.
Now, with workers feeling cornered, unions digging in their heels, and a government insisting on professionalism over sentiment, the road ahead looks rocky. Even as Naidu assures there will be no privatisation, his words and policies have left workers feeling as though the ground is shifting beneath their feet.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
