A division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar, on Friday, told the union to approach the three-member state-appointed committee headed by Chief Secretary (CS) to discuss unresolved issues.
As BEST buses remained in neutral gear for the fourth day of the strike, the Bombay High Court on asked the employees union, headed by Shashank Rao, to consider resolving their issues amicably and through a discussion with the state government.
A division bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice N M Jamdar, on Friday, told the union to approach the three-member state-appointed committee headed by Chief Secretary (CS) to discuss unresolved issues.
"Your issues have to be looked into seriously," the bench said, "As you serve the people, and are, without doubt, one of the best public transport undertakings in India."
The directive came after Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni informed the court that the state has formed a three-member committee comprising the CS, Transport Department and Urban Development department to address BEST's demands in a time-bound manner.
Senior Advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), told the court that the union should first call off the strike and come to the meeting with the state committee with a clean slate on Saturday.
"You (BEST employees) may feel pushed by the pressure, but instead of going on strike, you should have come to the court. We would have looked into the issues with all seriousness," said the Bench, while agreeing to Sakhare's suggestion.
However, advocate Neeta Karnik, appearing for the employee union, argued that the stir is not an impetuous decision or a flash strike "For three years, since 2016, representations have been made for issue resolution," she said, "However, the authorities held only one meeting. Our existence is at stake, because of which we had to strike."
Karnik informed the court about the union's top three demands, namely merger of loss-making BEST with BMC to offset the losses; upgrading pay grade of employees (which has been pending for many years) and revisiting the 2016 comprehensive settlement which did not take off. "First, public convenience needs to be considered," the court said, "All employee issues can be resolved through discussion."
The court was hearing the PIL filed by Advocate Datta Mane, seeking direction to withdraw the strike as it was causing hardships to the citizens of Mumbai. Around 27 lakh passengers use BEST buses daily.
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