MUMBAI: The city’s transport network faces the threat of major disruption after the BEST Workers Union issued a deadline to municipal authorities, warning of a major agitation if long-standing grievances over wage agreements, fleet ownership and land sales are not addressed by mid-August. The warning comes as the union leadership broke ranks with an umbrella action committee, accusing negotiators of accepting interim financial relief while tacitly allowing the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking to monetise its prime real estate assets. Speaking ahead of a mass meeting scheduled for 17 August at Shirodkar Hall in Parel, BEST Workers Union leader Shashank Rao criticised recent negotiations that yielded limited pay increases for staff while leaving systemic issues unresolved. “The interim relief offered to workers is a distraction from the erosion of BEST’s core public mandate,” Rao said. “The administration cannot be allowed to hand over municipal land to private developers under the guise of financial restructuring while ignoring long-pending wage revisions and equal pay for contractual staff.” The union’s five-point charter of demands calls for an immediate halt to the sale or lease of BEST-owned land to private builders, the urgent merger of BEST’s ‘C’ budget into the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) primary ‘A’ budget, and the implementation of long-delayed pay revisions for the 2016–2021 and 2021–2026 periods in line with the 7th Pay Commission. Labour representatives are also pushing for the implementation of a June 2019 memorandum of understanding. The agreement mandated the municipal body to fund operational deficits, clear pending retirement gratuities, and maintain a self-owned fleet of buses rather than relying heavily on privately operated wet-lease buses. “Wet-lease staff perform the same duties as permanent employees but are denied equal pay,” Rao said. “We are demanding full implementation of the 2019 agreement. If the administration fails to take a decisive and binding decision in the interest of the workforce by 15 August, there will be no stepping back, and we will launch a full-scale agitation.” Municipal authorities and BEST management have faced growing scrutiny in recent months over the increasing privatisation of the city’s bus fleet and delays in payments to retired personnel. If the union proceeds with industrial action after the 17 August meeting, millions of daily commuters in the financial capital could face severe transport disruption.
