CITU and AITUC have come out against a proposal to sell shares of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) to raise funds for the shipyard’s expansion and diversification.
Cochin Shipyard Employees’ Federation, CITU, claimed in a statement issued on Saturday here that people in Kerala could not brook the idea of selling shares in the public sector company, which had turned into a model PSU, making profits over the past 15 years.
The statement issued by the president of the federation and MLA K. Suresh Kurup said that the shipyard was a strategic institution and people’s help would be sought to resist any move to sell shares of the company.
The shipyard management announced on Friday that it planned to seek the permission from the Union government to raise Rs. 500 crore through sale of shares to fund its expansion plan.
Secretary of the AITUC and former MLA P. Raju said in a statement on Saturday that the shipyard was a Mini Ratna company and was making profits over the past few years. The shipyard had made more than Rs. 500 crore in profits over the past five years and the company had Rs. 600 crore in reserves. Therefore, it would not be difficult for the shipyard to find money for its expansion works, the statement said.