No more BEST strikes till 2016

BEST's transport strikes may not reoccur till 2016 as the long pending wage contract — widely believed to be the major cause for several strikes since 2006 — was sealed recently by the BEST administration with the Sharad Rao-led union.

The contract was also cleared by the committee of corporators which ratifies all the major decisions of the administration.
BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said he is optimistic about the prospects after having sealed the wage contract with the union.

"We are hoping that there are no strikes till 2016 as the basic wage issue has been settled now. Unless some other issue comes up, there should be no strikes," said Gupta. The BEST owes about Rs350 crore in arrears from the year 2006 to its employees and with the new contract which has granted several increments to the employees, the yearly expenses of the undertaking will shoot up by about Rs140 to Rs150 crore every year till 2016.

Speaking to DNA, Sharad Rao, who presides over the BEST Workers' Union, said, "It is a wrong assumption that I like to call for strikes frequently. The agreement which has been finalised with the administration is very good. We have managed to get substantial benefits for BEST workers. We will further increase the benefits to workers in remaining discussions with the BEST administration. This will be done without agitations as negotiations will be sufficient."