The ongoing agitation against the Union government’s move to disinvest 26% shares in the profit-making mini Ratna public sector company, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), will complete a year on Thursday.
It was on January 6 last year that hundreds of BEML employees launched an agitation against the government move. CITU national secretary K. Chandran Pillai will inaugurate the 365th day’s agitation in front of BEML unit at Kanjikode on Thursday afternoon.
A. Prabhakaran, MLA; CITU district president P.K. Sasi; INTUC district president Chingannur Manoj; AITUC district secretary Muralidharan Nair; CITU district secretary M. Hamsa; AITUC State secretary Vijayan Kunisseri; and BEML Action Council convener S.B. Raju will address the protesters.
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The Union government had started the move to privatise BEML way back in 2016. But the opposition from political parties and the employees forced the government to abandon the move. However, the second Modi government is going ahead with the plans to disinvest 26% of the shares at a time when BEML is making good profits.
Last year, BEML secured orders worth more than ₹10,000 crore through global tenders. A company engaged in the manufacturing of heavy military vehicles, rail and metro coaches, and mining and construction vehicles, BEML has four units across the country, in Bangalore, Kolar, Mysore and Kanjikode.
The Kanjikode unit is functioning on 375 acres of leased land given by the State government. It manufactures army vehicles, passenger railway coaches, and metro coaches. It has 350 permanent employees and 150 contract workers.
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It has already churned out 1,500-odd heavy military trucks, 300 railway coaches and 500-odd metro bogies. The unit is equipped to produce 500 metro bogies a year.
BEML Employees Association general secretary S. Gireesh alleged that the government was trying to help some private players in the name of disinvestment. Land worth crores of rupees will reach the hands of private players under the guise of disinvestment, he said.