Source : PTI | The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Thursday evening said that it had obtained a temporary order from an industrial court prohibiting its employees from going on a strike.
The Maharashtra government too invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) to prohibit the strike, officials said.
Earlier in the day, the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, an action committee of 12 unions, announced at a gathering in Dadar that the employees would be going on an indefinite strike from midnight as their long-pending demands had not been addressed within a deadline set by them.
BEST is Mumbai’s second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network. Besides operating bus services, it supplies electricity to more than 10 lakh consumers in Island City. Around 25 lakh passengers travel daily on BEST buses.
The civic undertaking currently operates a fleet of about 2,700 buses, of which only 243 are owned by BEST, while the rest are hired from private operators on a wet-lease basis.
Among the key demands of the employees are the merger of BEST’s budget with that of the BMC, a one-time settlement of legal dues of retired employees, implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for the 2016-2026 period, abolition of contractual arrangements in the transport and electricity departments, and absorption of wet-lease bus workers into BEST.
The committee has also demanded recruitment to vacant posts, operation of 6,000 buses under BEST ownership, promotions for eligible employees, and rejection of privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) models in the undertaking.
Following the strike call, BEST undertaking approached an industrial court, which in its interim order prohibited the employee unions from going on a strike, a BEST spokesperson said.
“Hon’ble Industrial Court has passed today evening an Ad-interim order in favour of BEST,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Police issued a warning that appropriate legal action will be taken against anyone disrupting public transport services or damaging property.
The government has invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) making the agitation (strike) illegal, said a police release.
Protestors must not cause damage to the buses and establishments of the BEST undertaking, nor should they stop willing employees from reporting to duty, the police advisory said.
The Shramik Utkarsh Sabha and the BEST Kamgar Union, two unions representing a section of BEST employees, distanced themselves from the strike call.
In a statement issued on Thursday night, the Shramik Utkarsh Sabha said employees affiliated with it and the BEST Kamgar Union would not participate in the protest march scheduled in Mumbai on June 19.
The unions are represented by Prasad Lad and Shashank Rao, both leaders of the ruling BJP.
The statement said that discussions on various issues concerning BEST employees were underway with the administration and the state government, and the two unions had decided to remain away from the agitation as efforts were being made through dialogue to resolve employees’ grievances.
