Bombay HC to issue orders on stir end; MNS starts agitation

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court is expected to give “appropriate orders” on Tuesday to end the seven-day strike of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses in the city as the corporation’s workers’ union and the Maharashtra government failed to reach any agreement before the court on Monday. 

Meanwhile, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) started an agitation to pressurise the authorities to end the strike early. MNS workers stopped work on Coastal Road at Worli in the morning, the Metro 3 work at Girgaum and also tried to disrupt services of other transport services like the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) plying in Mumbai. 

The bench of Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Justice NM Jamdar, before whom the PIL was being heard, expressed displeasure over the stand of the employee unions and said “things cannot continue as they are”. 

While the state government wanted the union to end the strike and come forward for negotiations, the union continued their demands for salary hike stating that the employees of BEST undertaking get a salary lower than that of the sweepers in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and they would think about going back to work only if they were convinced that the authorities were going to address the issue on a priority basis.

The high-powered committee trying to negotiate with the union too submitted its report to the court on Monday after which, the court said it would issue an appropriate order.