MUMBAI, Aug 8 (PTI): The drivers of the private bus operators hired by BEST announced on Tuesday
afternoon their decision to call off their strike claiming that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde
has assured them of fulfilling their salary hike and other demands.
The move by the contractual staffers will provide relief to lakhs of bus commuters as the agitation had
entered the seventh day on Tuesday morning with 551 of the 1,600 buses wet-leased by the
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) remaining off roads.
A representative of the contractual employees told mediapersons at Azad Maidan that their delegation
met CM Shinde after midnight on Monday. Shinde assured that the demands of the agitating employees
would be fulfilled, the representative said.
The delegation was led by Pradnya Khajurkar, wife of contractual worker Raghunath Khajurkar, an
employee of Daga group, one of the private operators.
“Our primary demands about salary hike, bonus, leaves and free bus rides have been accepted. Hence
the strike has been called off,” said Vikas Kharmale, cordinator of a group of employees of private bus
operators.
The employees, including drivers, of the private bus operators had been agitating over demands,
including salary hikes and pay parity with BEST employees.
The BEST undertaking, which provides public bus services in Mumbai and neighbouring areas, has hired
more than 1,600 buses from seven contractors on a wet lease model, under which the vehicle
ownership, maintenance, fuel and driver costs are the responsibility of the private operator.
The public transport body ferries more than 30 lakh commuters on its buses in Mumbai and
neighbouring Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira-Bhayander cities with its fleet of more than 3,100 buses, of
which it owns less than 1,400 buses.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde has agreed to their demands about salary hikes, paid weekly off, annual
paid leaves, Diwali bonus and other demands, Kharmale told PTI.
As per the employees, the private bus operators providing buses on wet lease have around 7,000-9,000
employees including drivers and conductors.
He said the CM also assured them that neither any action will be taken against the protesting employees
nor their salary for those days will be deducted.
According to Kharmale, the chief minister also assured to give them free bus pass facility like regular
BEST employees.
Kharmale said the CM has promised to find a way after talks about their main demand for permanent
jobs in the BEST undertaking.
“Therefore we announced to call off our agitation. We appeal to all the employees to re-join duty at
their respective depots,” he said.
Kharmale said that the chief minister also assured them that he would personally hold a meeting with
the labour commissioner and come out with a solution on Tuesday itself.
According to employees of private bus operators, on the directives of Shinde, former Thane mayor
Naresh Mhaske first listened to their demands and then called them for the meeting with the CM on
Monday night.
BEST sources said the public transport body was working on alternative arrangements to avoid the
inconvenience to commuters had the employees of the private bus operators remained firm on strike
despite the state government’s intervention.
A BEST official, who did not wish to be named, said the civic-run public transport body had sought an
additional fleet of buses and some spare drivers from state-run transporter MSRTC to operate buses in
the city if the protesting drivers didn’t resume work.
He further said that acting on BEST’s demand and the state government’s directive, the Maharashtra
State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) provided more than 200 buses on Tuesday morning as
against their demand of over 300 buses.
Notably, Mumbai guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Monday said the affected BEST bus
services will be restored in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Commuters have been facing a tough time due to the strike. As the number of buses plying on roads has
reduced, the service frequency has been affected, resulting in the buses which are operating being
overcrowded.
Some commuters also complained they were facing difficulty in getting auto-rickshaws and taxis to
reach their destinations.
BEST spokesperson Sunil Vaidya said the public transport body operated 645 wet-leased buses with its
own drivers on various routes, along with operating around 1,390 of its own buses.
State-owned MSRTC operated 210 buses from different depots of the BEST to avoid inconvenience to
the commuters, he said.
Majority of the drivers of seven private bus operators that have leased their buses to the BEST were on
strike since August 2 over salary hikes and other demands, including free rides on BEST buses.
A group of protesting employees of private bus operators contracted by BEST undertaking has sought
permanent jobs in the civic-run transporter.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, they said those who cannot be absorbed permanently must
be taken on a contract and demanded “equal remuneration” as BEST employees due to “equal work”
they were putting in.
They also said they will not call off the strike without a dialogue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde as they believe the CM would fulfil their demand.
Vaidya said the operators of the wet-leased buses have been asked to sort out the issues as fast as
possible by negotiating with their employees.
Also, the BEST is taking action against the bus operators as per the terms and conditions in the
agreements with them.
Amid the strike, the state government last week permitted all public service vehicles, including taxis,
auto-rickshaws and school buses, to carry out stage carriage operation, as part of which they can pick up
and drop passengers multiple times.
