Disappointed with BEST, staffers turn to citizens with grievances

What if you do not get salary even after working for an entire month? This is the question that the employees of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) will put forward to Mumbaikars. Starting Friday, the BEST employees will stage a protest meet outside every important railway station near bus depots every day. This Friday, they will organise a protest at CSMT.

The decision was taken on Tuesday in a joint meeting between the employees and the Shashank Rao led BEST unions at Wadala depot.

“We will be holding a dharna outside railway stations and tell people about our plight, without inconveniencing the public. The BEST Undertaking is part of the civic body, yet its 42,000 employees are not getting salaries on time for past several months,” said Shashank Rao, general secretary of BEST Workers Union.

According to sources, every month around Rs 184 crore needs to be allocated to pay salaries and remunerations to BEST employees. For this, the undertaking takes a loan of Rs 225-250 crore each month, which also includes maintenance of its bus fleet among other works.

At present, the number of commuters ferrying daily has dropped from 42 lakh to 27 lakh. In January, the BEST Sanyukta Kamgar Kruti Samiti (BSKKS), went on a 9-day long strike to keep forward their demands in front of the government. The assurance to end the strike came after BEST and the BMC agreed to appoint a retired High Court judge who will look into the nitty-gritty of their demands.