Mumbai: Office-goers and daily commuters faced travel disruption while coming to their workplaces on Friday as Mumbai's BEST employees started an indefinite strike after talks between unions and the administration failed to resolve their demands.
A turnout of only 38 buses was recorded; six buses had to return due to stone-pelting. Till 9:30 am, 32 buses were on the road out of the 2,766-bus fleet.
Impact on commuters
The protest, led by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, an action committee representing 12 employee unions, could impact bus services used by around 23 lakh daily passengers and may also affect electricity-related services managed by BEST.
Strike on Public Transport Day
The strike coincides with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)'s Public Transport Day event at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), despite plans to deploy additional BEST buses to ease commuter travel during the programme.
Why employees are protesting
The committee's key demand is the merger of BEST's budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Other demands include giving permanent jobs to contractual drivers, improving salaries and employee perks, and adding 5,000 BEST-owned buses.
They are also demanding a one-time settlement of pending legal dues of retired employees and implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for the 2016–2026 period.
Huge queues at Metro stations
Huge queues were witnessed at the Mumbai Metro Aqua Line 3 at the CSMT station as many commuters who used to travel by bus opted for the Metro, leading to heavy crowding.
Areas that could be impacted
Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Kurla, Bandra South Mumbai, areas Central and eastern suburbs.
