10-yr wait for hike and job confirmation: Story of most staff

MUMBAI: A 38-year-old computer engineer, who works as a casual labourer in Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport’s (BEST) electricity department, has been waiting for his job to be confirmed for the past 10 years.

Risking his life daily along with several others owing to inadequate safety gear, he works on the maintenance of live utilities under the ground.

“I was earning nearly ₹15, 000 monthly in an IT company till 2009. After my father retired, I was promised a permanent job in BEST and ₹8, 000 as salary.in 10 years, there has been no hike, nor was my job made permanent.”

While the BEST strike is set to enter into its fifth day, HT spoke to employees who have been demanding hikes, as per norms, and to be confirmed as permanent employees for the past 10 years.

According to the employees, most of them are buried under loans owing to their current salaries.

Nearly 11,000 labourers from the electric supply department and 14, 000 workers from transport department have gone on strike since Monday midnight.

Another major complaint is about the lack of safety gear when working on live wires.

Anil, a 29-year-old casual labourer, said, “Last year, I burnt my hand. We work without gloves, helmet and other necessary equipment. Safety shoes were provided only last year after our constant demand.”

According to 42-year-old Ravi, a BEST driver, “Nonmaintenance of buses is another major issue. Last year, I had parked a bus in the depot and warned the administration to not let anyone run the same bus without repairing its brakes. Minutes after I ended my shift, the bus was given to another driver who met with an accident. I fail to understand how exactly is BEST losing money when it is least bothered about maintaining them.”

Dashrath, 40, another BEST driver said, “The city has seen horrible disasters, however, we never stop running our buses. But, the BEST administration has pushed us to a point where we have to go on a strike.” MUMBAI: A 15-year-old boy on Friday fell to his death from a slide at a water park in Thane after he suffered a seizure, police said. According to the Kasarvadavli police, Dipak Chandrakant Gupta, a Class 10 student from Nalasopara, was with his classmates on a school trip. “Gupta was on a slide when he suffered a seizure. Before his friends could catch him, he fell to the ground, sustaining multiple grievous injuries. Gupta was rushed to Thane civil hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries,” said a police officer. The police are going through CCTV footage and have registered an accidental death case. ARVIND WALMIKI