The unions are demanding that the BEST budget should be merged with the BMC so that the undertaking's finances are taken care of
Nearly 27 lakh users of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport bus services will need to look for alternative transport arrangements as BEST workers are all set to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday. The strike was announced after talks between BEST Sanyukta Kamgar Kruti Samiti (BSKKS) and the administration over a host of demands remained inconclusive on Monday.
The unions are demanding that the BEST budget should be merged with the BMC so that the undertaking's finances are taken care of. Also, Diwali bonus should be given to all 44,000 employees. They are also demanding higher grade pay for employees recruited from 2007 onwards, resumption of compassionate appointments, and discussions on new wage agreement which was promised from 2016. Besides this, they employees are also demanding a bonus equivalent to BMC staffers.
The BEST panel, the policy-making body of the undertaking, has already approved the merger proposal, which is pending with the state government for it's final decision.
The workers were slated to meet the General Manager of BEST Surendra Bagde on Monday afternoon. However, the administration chose to send a junior officer to speak with the worker's representatives which irked the unions.
"We were called at 3pm for a meeting at BEST headquarters. We found that the General Manager was absent. Moreover, the officer who was in charge did not have any alternative offers to meet our demands. Hence, we decided to go on strike from Tuesday," said Shashank Rao, president of BSKKS.
Senior BEST officials said the GM did not ignore the employees and had gone for a general body meeting at BMC headquarters. "We had approached the Industrial Court who have issued a restraining order asking the unions from not going on strike," said a BEST official.
Of its fleet of 3337 buses, BEST runs nearly 3,000 buses daily. BEST administration fears more than 95 percent of them would off road on Tuesday. The strike will also put additional load on other modes of transport.
"During such strikes what we have seen is that there is about a 15 per cent increase in total passengers carried on that day. We will have to ensure that trains are punctual," said a Western Railway official.
TRADE UNION STIR
Central trade unions on Monday said nearly 20 crore workers will go on a two-day nationwide strike from Tuesday to protest against the government’s alleged anti-worker policies
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