Mumbai: The BEST employees have announced that they will stage a sit-in at city's Azad Maidan on Thursday, March 2 at 3 pm. The employees have made a slew of demands that they want to be fulfilled and are thence staging a sit-in.
Amongst the slew of demands, the BEST employees have asked the organisation to not lease their buses and hire employees per need; they have also demanded financial assistance to buy new buses.
Speaking about the sit-in, BEST employees' union leader Shashank Rao in a press statement said that the enterprise employees have few demands for smooth running of the organisation.
The statement read, "While serving in the tough times of COVID-19 for the last two years, around two hundred BEST employees have lost their lives in this pandemic, and many family members of BEST employees have also died. However, we never gave up this vow of national service."
It further read, "We wish, in the coming times, the BEST enterprise, should remain economically sound and be sound to serve Mumbaikars and in tune with it, we present a few demands."
The demands they stated in their statement are as follows:
1. The BEST initiative should maintain its own fleet of 3337 buses and accordingly recruit employees on the necessary vacant posts.
2. The "C" budget related to the BEST activities of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation should be merged with the "A" budget of the civic body.
3. According to MOU signed between Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, BEST Enterprises and BEST Workers Union on June 11, 2019, the civic body should immediately provide financial assistance to buy new buses in exchange of scrapped buses.
4. A committee headed by a retired judge should be formed to take immediate, speedy action to correct the errors made in implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission to the BEST employees. They should be provided with pay scales and allowances equivalent to that of the BMC in accordance with order of Industrial Court dated January 27, 2021.
5. • Pending provision of COVID allowance should be made available immediately.
6. BEST enterprise should fill in vacancies created by promotions of the employees.
