The Hindu Business Line : BEST employees begin strike

Mumbai April 19 The buses were off the roads in Mumbai on Thursday following a 72-hour strike by workers of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking, which runs the service.

BEST employees union is demanding a pay revision and a hike interim dearness allowance.

The BEST management has threatened to terminate the service of 30,000 employees.

A BEST spokesperson said that advertisements in leading newspapers would be released on Friday for fresh recruitment.

According to BEST General Manager, Mr Uttam Khobragade, the strike is illegal as the employees have gone on strike without heeding the court order, he said.

The employees began their strike from Thursday midnight, demanding a revised pay scale and interim Dearness Allowances.

BEST operates around 3380 busses in the city.

On an average, BEST buses carry 48 lakh passengers per day and has a daily collection of Rs 2.23 crore from ticket sales. BEST has been losing Rs 170 crore to Rs 200 crore per from its transportation business. This loss is cross-subsidies by the power distribution business.

Last year BEST workers had received its hike in DA allowances. The undertaking had to shell out Rs 150 crore for the hike.

Overstaffing is major problem plaguing BEST. For every bus, BEST has deployed 11 workers, while in cities like Bangalore its seven workers.

PTI reports:

Meanwhile, lakhs of commuters, a majority of them office-goers, were inconvenienced as buses were off the roads this morning resulting in taxis, auto-rickshaws and private bus operators making brisk business.

Office-goers at the busy Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station were a harassed lot, as there were no BEST buses which used to ferry them to their offices at Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point, after alighting from the suburban trains.

The BEST runs special services between CST and the business districts of Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point, but none of them were present forcing commuters to travel in overcrowded private buses or opt for taxis, which were charging exorbitant fares.

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