Mumbai: BEST Wet Lease Bus Staff Call Off Strike After Police Intervention

The contractual employees of a private operator hired by civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport or BEST went on a flash strike at one of the undertaking's bus depots in Mumbai early Monday morning, with the stir being called off later after police intervention.

Bus services normalised slowly after those protesting resumed duty at 12:30 p.m., a BEST undertaking spokesperson said.

The strike was triggered by a dispute between employees of this private operator and supervisors of Pratiksha Nagar depot that took place on Jan. 10, he said.

These employees resumed work after the intervention of the police, the official informed.

Earlier, BEST public relations officer Sudas Sawant told PTI employees of the wet lease operator Mateshwari were on strike over their demands, leading to buses on some routes remaining off the road.

He also said the strike was limited to Pratiksha Nagar depot, and that bus operations at the other BEST depots were unaffected.

BEST employees union leader Suhas Samant said Mateshwari operates 110 buses from the Pratiksha Nagar depot, and none of them were running since the strike began in the morning.

Mateshwari officials could not be reached for comments on the matter.

However, another BEST official later said staffers of the private operator at Dharavi depot had also struck work during this period.

Earlier, sources said the strike was the fallout of alleged mistreatment of a pregnant woman conductor by officials of the private operator.

Under the wet lease model, private operators take care of the maintenance of buses and salaries of drivers.

Notably, BEST, which operates nearly 3,000 buses and serves more than 30 lakh passengers daily, has been without a general manager for more than a week. An additional commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is currently holding charge of the position.