Relief For Mumbai Commuters: BEST Workers Call Off 9-Day Strike After Interim Pay-Hike Approval

Twenty-five lakh daily commuters in Mumbai breathed a sigh of relief after Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Employees Union called off the strike after nine days.

The divisional bench of the Bombay High Court, after hearing the union’s side, directed it to quit the strike and pursue negotiations with the administration. The high powered committee appointed by the court, while agreeing to most of the union’s demands, prepared a plan for settling workers' dues in 10 instalments.

Taking a jibe on Shiv Sena and its supremo, Uddhav Thackeray, Union leader Shahshank Rao said: “It was Thackeray who prevented Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, else with his intervention the strike would have ended very soon." Furthermore, Rao blamed Thackeray for the mess in municipal transport undertaking, accusing the Sena of eyeing the huge bus depots of the BEST, reports New Indian Express.

Under the plan proposed by the high-powered committee, implementation of interim pay-hike for about 15,000 out of total 32,000 employees, which were pending since 2007, would be immediately initiated, and the '10-step increment' would also begin this month. For the other demands, the union will continue talks with the administration.