Mumbai: BEST staff go on flash strike at Magathane

Representational image. Pic/iStock

Commuters were inconvenienced on Sunday, Bhai Dooj Day, as BEST staff at Magathane depot called for a flash strike over non-payment of Diwali bonus this year. The administration has been trying to run a few buses with protective grills on them. Out of the scheduled 1,266 buses, only 1,159 were in operation, resulting in a shortage of 107 buses on Sunday morning.

While BMC employees were announced a timely bonus before the model code of conduct for elections was announced, BEST employees have failed to get any.

"BEST employees have been getting Diwali bonus since 1970/71. We had sent a letter earlier this year to the administration reminding them that BEST employees should be at par with BMC employees. But BMC employees were given bonuses prior to the festival and BEST employees have been left high and dry on festive days. It is very unfair," BEST Workers' Union General Secretary Shashank Sharad Rao said.

Union sources indicated that drivers from the BEST undertaking presented a list of requests, including the merger of the BEST budget with the BMC budget and the payment of the Diwali bonus. A group of drivers from the Magathane depot initiated a flash protest, leading to significant service disruption. Early in the morning, only 40 per cent of buses were running at Magathane. Senior staff intervened to scuttle the strike, so it did not spread to other depots.