On Saturday, an action committee of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) labour unions declared that they will stage a protest at Wadala depot on Monday.
BEST panel declared protest on Monday
The action committee, BEST Sanyukta Kamagar Kruti Samiti, that has been demanding a wage hike, stated that they have decided to not go on strike immediately so that passengers are not hassled. However, the agitation on Monday will start from 11 am.
The union leader Shashank Rao said, “We do not want to inconvenience passengers instantly by calling a strike. We will begin the agitation from Monday morning. After this, we will take a decision on the strike.”
On Friday, the action committee had said that depending upon the result of the strike ballot which was conducted on August 26, the future course of action will be announced on Saturday. Reportedly, out of the 17,925 BEST employees who took part in the strike ballot, 1,731 cast their votes online.
As per the action committee, their earlier wage agreement with the management has already expired back in 2016, but a new one has not yet been signed owing to issues in the BEST management. Once signed it will be valid for five years from 2016-2021. However, the unions are likely to meet BEST employees, including the general manager, on August 27, 2019.
Reportedly, the action committee had earlier warned of a strike from April 7, but it was postponed after the BEST management agreed for five rounds of talks on wage agreement till August 20.
Meanwhile, BEST bus service is the second largest mode of public transport in Mumbai after the suburban railways. If the unions go on strike, around 30 lakh commuters in Mumbai will be affected on a daily basis.
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