Friday's incident at Mumbai Central depot has once again brought the issue of recently introduced computerised (Canadian) duty schedule to the fore, with labour unions saying the new system is responsible for BEST driver, Shankar Mane, attacking his colleagues for not being assigned his preferred conductor.
Some BEST trade unions blamed the schedule, combined with lack of support facilities, for the high stress levels among the staff.
A BEST Employees Union member said, "Traffic staff is forced to work under pressure. In order to show more and more kilometres, staffers are forced to operate full trips most of the times, even when duty hours are about to get over."
The unions also blame corruption involved while fixing duties. The starters (who prepare duty charts) allegedly favour those who grease their palms with alcohol or money or other gifts.
An office-bearer from BEST Kamgar Sangthana said, "Mane was being given tougher duty. The problem lies in the schedule. On paper, 8-9 working hours are shown, but the staff ends up working for 12. And this is besides the commuting time to and from the staffer's residence."
To top that, the facilities at the terminus and depots have not improved. "At Bhandup station (West), there is no toilet. Staff is forced to go to railway tracks. At Kandivli station (West), the canteen is shut for three months. And there is no restroom at Marol," said another.
When BEST drivers and conductors were asked if there are any measures from the management to reduce their stress, they replied in the negative.
The union office-bearers claimed that Friday's incident has acted as a trigger for another round of protests from employees against the computerised schedule, and it may lead to "mass leave".
It may be recalled that BEST employees had gone on mass leave (strike) on April 1 and 2 demanding scrapping of the computerised duty charts prepared by a Canadian firm. But the BEST management was successful in implementing the new system.
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