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Surat: Workers’ protest turns violent, cops fire tear gas shells
Workers demanded a hike in wages and a reduction in working hours from ten hours to eight
Labourers went on a rampage at AM/NS company at Hazira in Surat on Thursday.
A protest carried out by 5,000 contract workers of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) working at the AM/NS (ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel) project site at Hazira, Surat turned violent with several policemen sustaining injuries and many vehicles being set on fire. The workers demanded a hike in wages and a reduction in working hours from ten hours to eight. According to the primary investigation of the police, the protests were inspired by a video of workers in an oil refinery at Panipat which had gone viral on social media.
The police officials of six police stations and fire department teams reached the spot after learning about the incident. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob and detained several protesting workers.
Surat Deputy Commissioner of police Zone 7, Shaifali Barwal, said, “We are registering an offence of rioting and damaging the property against the mob. We have detained about 20 people from the spot who were on a rampage. Presently, the situation is under control, and we have deployed police staff on the spot. Few police men including Hazira police inspector V L Parmar were injured and their condition is stable. ”
“For the last two days, there was unrest among the workers of a refinery in Panipat. There were many clashes there too. Following this, WhatsApp videos of the L&T workers at Hazira also went viral this morning. As a result, a large number of workers gathered at the site. Initially, our police inspector was present at the spot and the police tried hard to convince them that their words would be heard. The police tried to assure them that the company would also sit with them and discuss any question which they had, but the situation went out of control. When they started pelting stones, we immediately took action and fired more than 35 tear gas shells to control the situation,” she added.
In a press release, L&T company officials stated that they would implement all the rules of the Gujarat Government’s labour code with immediate effect once the policy was implemented.
AM/NS company authorities also issued a press release stating, “A group of workers deployed by L&T at AM/NS India Hazira plant project made certain demands from their employer. L&T Management is expeditiously handling the situation and is in discussions with the workers.’’
Sources said that plant operations were halted after the protests turned violent.
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