Mumbai: The BEST Workers’ Union on Wednesday agreed to call off its strike in the Bombay high court. Unions agreed to the BEST management’s offer of a 10-point increment in salary for staff, including drivers and conductors, and the court’s suggestion of appointing a mediator to work out a solution. The court has appointed retired Justice F.I. Rebello as a mediator between the BEST Union and management. The mediator will look into other issues like the merger of the BEST and BMC budget. He will have to resolve the issue within three months.
Around 32,000 BEST workers have been 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 Munic-ipal Corporation (BMC). A state appointed high-powered committee had earlier this week suggested that the BEST employees’ salary be hiked in 10 steps as an interim measure.
The BEST workers’ union’s counsel Neeta Karnik on Wednesday said, “We cannot sit with BEST. We want an independent mediator who has knowledge of labour laws. We want a retired high court judge to be appointed as a mediator.”
A division bench of chief Justice N.H. Patil and Justice N.M. Jamdar agreed to this and appointed retired Justice F.I. Rebello. “The mediator shall within a period of three months discuss demands put forth by the employees, like 20-step pay hike, merger of BEST and BMC budgets, and so on,” the court said in its order. The court noted that the first step was to ensure the strike was called-off.
“The strike should not have happened at all. The situation should not have been brought to this extent. The BEST and BMC should show more consideration towards the BEST workers. It is not easy for families to survive with low salaries,” Justice Patil said.
To the workers, he said, “No employee will ever say he or she is satisfied with their job and salary. But we are all part of a system that needs to continue functioning.”
The court was hearing a petition filed last week by advocate Datta Mane, seeking that the strike be declared illegal and called-off.
