# Cities

BEST buses to stay off roads on Monday

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) worker's union decided to go ahead with the bus strike from this midnight…

IANS | Mumbai | August 7, 2017 4:18 am

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) worker's union decided to go ahead with the bus strike from this midnight to press for their demands, including timely payment of salaries.

The bus strike would put citizens to inconvenience as 'Raksha Bandhan' is being celebrated on Monday.

The BEST employees and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been at the loggerheads for the past few days over several issues, including irregular payment of salary.

The BEST employees' union led by Shashank Rao, which claims to have support of 16,500 workers, said, "We wanted a written assurance from the BMC administration but they did not give it. Now, we have decided not to report to duty from midnight. No bus will ply tomorrow."

The Maharashtra government has warned of invoking Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), 2011 against the employees who go on strike.

"We want a solution and it lies with the BMC, which says BEST employees are its own. BEST employees should get all the facilities that a BMC employee gets. We want a letter from the the civic commissioner admitting that BEST is very much part of BMC," he said.