Mumbai : Nine days strike from Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) has finally come to an end today. The BEST union strike was one of the longest strikes yet.
This move negotiates between BEST management and association after the appointment of a mediator, a retired high court judge by the Bombay High Court.
More than 32,000 best employees were on strike since January 8, due to their various demands including increase in pay scale, revision of pay grade for junior level employees and the merger of BEST’s budget with losses with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
On Tuesday, the High Court had directed the association to take a final decision on withdrawing its ongoing strike and notify the court the following day. BEST told the court that it was ready to implement the redressal measures suggested by the State Government’s empowered committee, which was ready to provide interim wages to its employees.
A committee headed by the Chief Secretary allegedly said that the matter of the strike is, as an interim measure, workers have been allowed to ’10 -step increase ‘in salaries for about 15,000 employees.
The labor unions also demanded that the BEST head office is shifted to BMC headquarter. Ankush Karande, one of the representatives of protesters protesting in Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus of South Mumbai, said, “Both budgets should be mixed and new workers should get the benefits of old grades.”
