BEST management offers salary by 10th, but unions not amused INDEFINITE STRIKE ON
Brace for a lot of inconvenience as buses are likely to be off the roads from today. Workers now want written assurance from the top brass
In a climbdown, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) management on Sunday night assured its staff just hours before the workers were to go on a strike that it will pay the pending salary to their employees by August 10.
BEST General Manager Surendrakumar Bagde called a press conference to announce that all staff would be paid their July salary within August 10. “I hope that the employees do not go on a strike from Monday as we have accepted one of their major demands,” Bagde said, adding that other issues raised by the staff would be looked into to come to an amicable settlement.
But soon after, the BEST union said it would go ahead with the strike as no written assurance has been given to its members. “We do not believe the verbal assurances given by the management. They have done this before. We will be going on an indefinite strike starting from Monday,” said Shashank Rao, BEST Workers’ Union general secretary.
“It is the responsibility of the Mahanagara Palike to give us a written acceptance of our demands. We are fighting for our rights. We work day and night, we must be entitled to our salary. We will protest if a written acceptance is not given to us,” Rao added.
The civic body had earlier promised that it would pump in Rs 2,000 crore as subsidy to BEST, but that hasn’t happened so far. A financial revival of the bus services was also to be discussed.
“We are a force of 36,000 workers who are backing this strike. We have been in talks for three months, but there has been no proactive solution to our problems. We will demand what is rightfully ours,” he said. All the nine unions of 36,000 employees have supported the decision. If the union goes ahead with the strike, lakhs of commuters will face inconvenience amid festival rush in the business capital.
Earlier on Sunday, the union had a meeting with the Mumbai Mayor, who has assured them to accept their one of the important demands to get the employees their salary on 10th of every month. However, the union is adamant to get their demands accepted in writing.
The civic body had earlier promised that it would pump in Rs 2,000 crore as subsidy to BEST, but that hasn’t happened so far