BEST workers' union calls off strike

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) workers’ and employees’ union yesterday called off its nine-day-old strike after accepting the '10-step' pay hike to be granted to them by way of an interim measure by the civic transport undertaking's management. 

 

The BEST Union Leader Shashank Rao made this announcement at workers rally in Wadala in Mumbai this afternoon after a division bench of Bombay High Court consisting of Chief Justice N H Patil and Justice N M Jamdar had ordered the BEST workers’ and employees’ union to withdraw the strike within one hour. This will bring relief to lakhs of commuters in the



metropolis.

 

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) workers, its management and other parties concerned will now go for mediation to resolve their dispute. The BEST union and its management have agreed to have retired High Court justice F I Rebello as the mediator, who will discuss their demands within a period of three months. 

 

The BEST workers were on strike since January 8 over their various demands, including pay hike, revision of pay scale of junior level employees and merger of BEST's budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).