Mumbai, Jun 21 (PTI) The indefinite strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking was called off on Sunday night following a meeting between their unions and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, officials said.
The strike had severely disrupted bus services across Mumbai for the last three days, forcing passengers to depend on local trains, Metro services, taxis and autorickshaws for their daily commute.
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, MLAs Sachin Ahir and Murji Patel, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner (BMC) Ashwini Bhide, BEST General Manager Sonia Sethi, and union representatives attended the meeting at Sahyadri Guest House here.
Under the agreement, BEST employees will receive an interim monthly pay increase of Rs 3,000, while employees of wet lease operators will receive Rs 2,000 per month until a new wage settlement is finalised, Shinde announced.
He also directed the BEST administration to clear employees’ pending gratuity dues within the current financial year and instructed that bus services resume immediately following the withdrawal of the strike.
The deputy CM said the government would strengthen the public transport undertaking by procuring 5,000 electric buses over the next three years and making the necessary financial provisions in a phased manner.
He further assured that the BEST administration’s proposed revival plan would be submitted to the state government at the earliest and placed before the cabinet for approval.
Describing BEST as Mumbai’s lifeline, Shinde said strengthening the undertaking was essential, and the government was committed to addressing employees’ concerns while improving public transport services.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir, who is also the coordinator of a joint action committee of BEST employees’ unions, said that buses would soon return to the city’s roads.
Earlier in the day, BEST said in a statement that it had arranged special services for students appearing in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) re-examination, saying nearly 180 bus trips would be operated during the day to ensure their smooth transportation.
It deployed nearly 100 buses on more than two dozen routes to facilitate their travel to the 63 exam centres across the city, officials said.
The strike, called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, had virtually paralysed the civic-run bus transport system since Friday, with only a handful of buses being allowed on the roads.
BEST’s permanent and temporary staff as well as most of the employees of wet-lease operators, had taken part in the strike.
The strike had continued despite the government’s invocation of the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) and an industrial court’s ad-interim order restraining employees from resorting to a strike.
Notices were served under the MESMA on Saturday to the agitating employees. Under MESMA, legal steps can be initiated against striking employees.
BEST operates a fleet of 2,766 buses and carries around 25 lakh passengers daily, making it Mumbai’s second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network.
The unions have made several demands, including the merger of BEST’s budget with that of the BMC, implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, settlement of retired employees’ dues, abolition of contractual arrangements in transport and electricity operations, and absorption of wet-lease bus workers into BEST. PTI KK NR
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