Mumbai BEST Employees Go On Strike

Employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) launched an indefinite strike on Friday, bringing the city's bus transit system to a near-total standstill and threatening essential utility infrastructure.

The protest began at midnight after last-minute talks between the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar KrutiSamiti, an action committee representing 12 employee unions, and the BEST administration collapsed.

Following the strike call, the BEST administration approached the Industrial Court, which issued an interim order restraining employee unions from going ahead with the strike, a BEST spokesperson told PTI.

In response, the Maharashtra government invoked the stringent Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), making the agitation illegal. The Industrial Court had also issued an ad-interim order temporarily prohibiting the shutdown, warning of the “immense hardship” it would cause to the public.

BEST is Mumbai's second-largest public transport service after the suburban railway network, with nearly 25 lakh commuters relying on its buses daily. Beyond operating bus services across the city, it also supplies electricity to more than 10 lakh consumers in South Mumbai.

The impact of the strike was felt immediately across the city. Operational buses were halted inside depots in Ghatkopar, while large demonstrations erupted at the Dharavi depot, prompting heavy police deployment to maintain law and order. Major transit routes across South Mumbai, the central and eastern suburbs, and business hubs such as the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) are likely to face disruptions following the strike, The Economic Times reported.

Reason & Demands

Union leaders assert that the administration forced their hand by ignoring years of grievances. Striking workers are demanding the structural merger of the transport undertaking’s budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) main budget to ensure stable institutional funding. They are also seeking the immediate implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, the filling of vacant posts, and a one-time settlement of retirement dues that have remained pending since 2022.

"Those who retired did not get their money since 2022. The waitlisted workers are not getting even the minimum wages, so it is the responsibility of the administration and the government to pay that," BEST Workers' Union leader Ranganath Satavase told ANI.

The unions are also strongly opposing privatisation, demanding an end to contractual employment and seeking the absorption of wet-lease workers into the permanent workforce.

Currently, out of a fleet of 2,700 buses, BEST directly owns only 243, relying on private contractors for the rest. The striking employees want the municipal body to transition back to an entirely state-owned model with a fleet of 6,000 buses.

Other key demands include filling vacant posts, granting promotions to eligible employees, and opposing privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) models.

However, not all employee unions have joined the strike. The Shramik Utkarsh Sabha and the BEST Kamgar Union, led by BJP leaders Prasad Lad and Shashank Rao, have distanced themselves from the agitation, choosing instead to continue negotiations with the state government and the BEST management.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have warned that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found obstructing willing workers, blocking roads, or damaging public transport property.