Mumbai: The indefinite strike by BEST employees entered its first full day on Friday, severely disrupting bus services across Mumbai, with union leaders making it clear that the agitation will continue until a meeting is held with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Despite a meeting between Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik and representatives of the BEST Joint Action Committee on Friday, union leaders refused to call off the strike. BEST union leader Uday Ambolakar said the discussions held with the transport minister were only the first step and needed to be taken forward at the highest level. "We have demanded a meeting with the Chief Minister or the Deputy Chief Minister tomorrow morning. The discussions held with the Transport Minister need to be taken forward and finalized. Until a meeting takes place with the Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister, our protest will continue. All 12 unions are united in this fight, as it is a matter of the workers' survival," Ambolakar said.
BEST Committee Chairman Trush vishwash rao said, she met representatives of the Joint Action Committee and informed them that efforts were being made to address their key demands. The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere. Despite this, the Joint Action Committee continued with the strike. The BEST Committee Chairman appealed to employees, through direct communication and the media, to withdraw the agitation in the interest of commuters.
BEST said the strike, which began from midnight on June 18, has been called by unions under the BEST Joint Action Committee over demands including settlement of pending dues of retired employees, restoration of a 5,000-bus fleet owned by BEST, merger of the undertaking's budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget and implementation of a revised wage agreement. However, the BEST Workers' Union, which represents around 46 per cent of the workforce, has stayed away from the agitation.
The impact of the strike was visible across the city as bus operations nearly came to a standstill. According to BEST's turnout position summary, only 48 buses were operated against the scheduled fleet of 2,766 buses. Of the buses that operated, only nine were BEST-owned while 39 were wet-lease buses. Commuters across Mumbai faced long waits and were forced to rely on overcrowded trains, taxis and autorickshaws.
BEST officials also reported 26 incidents linked to the strike, including 10 cases of stone pelting, 10 threat incidents, three cases of air being removed from bus tyres and three incidents of broken mirrors. Police personnel were deployed at bus depots, employee colonies and other sensitive locations as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik appealed to employees to withdraw the strike, saying discussions were progressing in a positive atmosphere. He said efforts were being made to convene a meeting during the upcoming legislative session under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and in the presence of the Deputy Chief Ministers to arrive at a final solution. Stressing that BEST is Mumbai's lifeline and carries nearly 30 lakh passengers daily, Sarnaik urged employees to consider the inconvenience being caused to citizens and return to work while talks continue.
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