BEST workers call off 9-day strike in Mumbai after interim pay hike approval

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) workers’ union have agreed to call off their nine-day-old strike on Wednesday after the management promised to implement an interim pay-hike for about 15,000 employees.

The appointment of a retired high court judge to negotiate terms between the workers’ union and the BEST management is one of the other terms agreed upon, leading to the withdrawal of the strike.

The '10-step proposed increment' is expected to begin this month from the 20th. The workers’ union also informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it will call off the strike with immediate effect.

No action has been ordered on the employees. The authorities have been asked to sort out issues with the employees.

Over 32,000 BEST employees have been on strike since January 8 over their various demands, including pay hike, revision of pay grade for junior level employees, and merger of loss-making BEST's budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The Bombay High Court had on Tuesday directed the BEST workers' union to take a final decision on the withdrawal of its ongoing strike and inform the court on Wednesday.

BEST union agrees to withdraw strike after court appoints mediator, a retired Justice of High Court, to negotiate matters...

— Abhijit Mulye (@AbhijitTNIE) January 16, 2019

A state appointed high-powered committee had earlier this week suggested that the BEST employees' salary be hiked in 10 steps as an interim measure.

The BEST workers' union's counsel Neeta Karnik Wednesday said this was agreeable to employees but they want an independent mediator to resolve the issues.

"We cannot sit with BEST. We want an independent mediator who has knowledge of labour laws. We want a retired high court judge to be appointed as mediator," Karnik said.

A division bench of Chief Justice N H Patil and Justice N M Jamdar agreed to this and directed the parties to suggest names.

"The mediator shall within a period of three months discuss demands put forth by the employees, like 20-step pay hike, merger of BEST and BMC budgets, and so on," the court said in its order.

The BEST union and its management agreed to have retired high court justice F I Rebello as the mediator.

The court noted that the first step was to ensure the strike was called-off.

"The strike should not have happened at all. The situation should not have been brought to this extent. The BEST and BMC should show more consideration towards the BEST workers. It is not easy for families to survive with low salaries," Chief Justice Patil said.

To the workers, he said, "No employee will ever say he or she is satisfied with their job and salary. But we are all part of a system that needs to continue functioning."

BEST's counsel M P Rao told the bench that the management was ready to implement the "10-step increment" for its employees with effect from January this year.

The increase, however, will be implemented subject to the fact that the strike is called off, Rao told the bench.

As per the BEST workers' union and BMC's previous submissions in court, a 'one-step' increase in pay for BEST workers amounts to around Rs 330 per month.

Public face the brunt

Meanwhile, commuters continued to face hardships due to the strike, even as the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) deployed its buses to minimise their woes.

A BEST driver apologised to commuters for the inconvenience, but also appealed them to understand the problems faced by the bus employees.

"We have been financially distressed since the last few years. We had no option but to resort to this (strike). But we are hopeful that this will end," he said. 

The BEST has a fleet of over 3,200 buses which criss-cross the metropolis and also operate services in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai.

It is the second-biggest mode of transport in Mumbai after local trains, which ferry over 80 lakh passengers every day.

(With online desk inputs)