CITU opposes Centre’s move to develop Visakhapatnam port hospital under PPP mode
Union leaders allege it is a ploy to hand over the assets of the port to private investors
The recent announcement by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in the Lok Sabha that the 80-bed ‘Golden Jubilee Hospital’ of Visakhapatnam Port will be upgraded into a 300-bed hospital, under the PPP (Public Private Partnership) mode, has drawn flak from the trade union leaders.
A protest was organised under the aegis of the United Port and Dock Employees Union and the Visakhapatnam Dock Labour Board and Dock Workers Union-CITU, outside the Port Golden Jubilee Hospital, located at Kailasapuram, here on Monday.
Demanding withdrawal of the proposal to upgrade the facility into a super-speciality hospital in the PPP-mode at a cost of ₹222.43 crore, the union leaders sought that the hospital could be developed by the port with its own funds as it has reserve funds, and was earning profits year after year. Alleging that the plan was to hand over the assets of the port to private players, they said, “If the Centre is really interested in the welfare of port employees, it should continue the hospital in the public sector. The memories of corporate hospitals fleecing patients, with the sole objective of profits during the COVID-19 pandemic, are still fresh in the minds of the people.”
CITU leader V.S. Padmanabha Raju, Employees Union general secretary K. Satyanarayana and VDLB Union general secretary B. Lakshmana Rao said that privatisation of the hospital would put around 4,000 workers, employees and officials, their families, and over 10,000 pensioners and their families at the mercy of the private players.
Already some berths at Visakhapatnam port were handed over to private players. The move has hit the revenue of the port. A report given by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the past has revealed that PPP and BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) modes were a failure in ports. The CITU leaders alleged that ‘PPP’ was a ploy to hand over public sector assets to private players.
Strongly condemning the privatisation of the port hospital and seeking its development by the port with its own funds, the union leaders warned that any move to privatise the hospital would be strongly resisted.
Union leaders B. Jagan, B. Lakshman Rao, K. Satyanarayana, J. Satyanarayana, Narasinga Rao, Eswara Rao, Lakshman and Kanna Rao were among those who participated in the protest.
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