Mumbai: The drivers of the wet lease buses hired by BEST announced on Tuesday afternoon their decision to call off their strike claiming that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has assured them of fulfilling their salary hike and other demands.
The move by the contractual staffers will provide relief to lakhs of commuters as the agitation had entered the seventh day on Tuesday morning with 551 of the 1,600 buses wet-leased by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) remaining off roads.
CM Shinde Assured All Demands Of Protestors Will Be Fullfilled
The delegation was led by Pradnya Khajurkar, wife of contractual worker Raghunath Khajurkar, an employee of Daga group, one of the private operators.
“Our primary demands about salary hike, bonus, leaves and free bus rides have been accepted. Hence the strike has been called off,” said Vikas Kharmale, cordinator of a group of employees of wet lease bus operators of BEST.
CM Shinde has agreed to their demands about salary hikes, paid weekly off, annual paid leaves, Diwali bonus and other demands, Kharmale told FPJ.
He said the CM also assured them that neither any action will be taken against the protesting employees nor their salary for those days will be deducted.
According to Kharmale, the CM also assured to give them free bus pass facility like regular BEST employees. Kharmale said the CM has promised to find a way after talks about their main demand for permanent jobs in the BEST undertaking.
“Therefore we announced to call off our agitation. We appeal to all the employees to re-join duty at their respective depots,” he said.
Kharmale said that the chief minister also assured them that he would personally hold a meeting with the labour commissioner and come out with a solution on Tuesday itself.
Contractual employees met CM Shinde
A representative of the contractual employees told FPJ on Tuesday that their delegation met CM Shinde after midnight on Monday. "Shinde assured that the demands of the agitating employees would be fulfilled" he said.
According to employees of private bus operators, on the directives of Shinde, former Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske first listened to their demands and then called them for the meeting with the CM on Monday night.
The employees, including drivers, of the wet bus operators had been agitating over demands, including salary hikes and pay parity with BEST employees.
The BEST undertaking, which provides public bus services in Mumbai and neighbouring areas, has hired more than 1,600 buses from seven contractors on a wet lease model, under which the vehicle ownership, maintenance, fuel and driver costs are the responsibility of the private operator. "Out of total fleet of 3,052 buses 1,671 on wet lease," said an official.
The public transport body ferries more than 30 lakh commuters on its buses in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayander cities with its fleet of 3052 buses, of which it owns 1381 buses.
As per the employees, the private bus operators providing buses on wet lease have around 7,000-9,000 employees including drivers and conductors.
