Mumbai: BEST calls off strike

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The BEST strike that was supposed to begin today has been called off. Following deliberations between BEST General Manager Surendra Bagde and BEST Workers' Union leader Shashank Sharad Rao over wage agreement, the union decided to call off the strike.

An official said that the charter of demands submitted by the trade union for wage revision for the period between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2021 will be positively discussed in five rounds of talks on August 9, 13, 16, 19 and 20.

BEST employees had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from the midnight of August 6 to press for signing new wage agreements involving salary hike, implementation of merger of BMC and BEST budget and acceptance of the Memorandum of Understanding that had been signed during the earlier strike call.

It may be recalled that employees had gone on a nine-day strike in January 2019 and the undertaking had lost revenue of Rs 19.88 crore in the period. As many as 17 buses had been damaged in 10 stone-pelting incidents causing more losses.

Every year on August 7, the Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking celebrates 'BEST Divas' with a public meeting graced by various dignitaries - senior officials, members of the BEST committee and leaders of political parties in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to mark the establishment of the undertaking.

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