BEST wet lease bus staff go on flash strike in Mumbai; some services hit

The contractual employees of a private operator hired by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking went on a flash strike at one of the depots in Mumbai early Monday morning, partially affecting the BEST bus services.

While BEST did not disclose the reason for the strike, sources said it was triggered by the alleged mistreatment of a pregnant woman conductor by officials of the private operator.

A BEST official said the services were affected on a few routes as the strike was limited to the Pratiksha Nagar depot, while a union leader claimed more than 100 buses of the private operator remained off the road.

Notably, BEST, which operates nearly 3,000 buses and serves more than 3 million passengers daily, has been without a general manager for more than a week.

An additional commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently holding charge of the position.

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

He also said the strike was limited to the Pratiksha Nagar depot, and 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.

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