Rejecting the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by some trade unions with SAIL on wage revision of workers, CITU-affiliated Steel Employees Trade Union today said it would go on an indefinite strike from January 5 if demands of the workers were not settled by the year end.
SETU will organise a rally in front of Rourkela steel plant on December 18 and later serve strike notice to the management, SETU president Bishnu Mohanty said.
He said, "We are not at all ready to accept the illegal memorandum of understanding signed by some of the unions with SAIL on November 29, at the National Joint Committee for Steel, as the unions are not recognised in steel plants."
SETU had been demanding 28 per cent minimum guaranteed benefits, fringe benefits at par with executives, wage settlement of contract workers and payment of Rs 1,000 declared by the steel minister for contract workers from September 2008.
Mohanty added that while CITU and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) are the recognised unions in different steel plants in SAIL, Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) and All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), which signed the MoU have lost their representative character as they are not recognised.