The largest union of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees, BEST Workers’ Union, on Thursday threatened to go on strike on October 9. Its demands include initiating talks for a new wage agreement with the administration and paying an extra ₹10,000 each to workers till such an agreement is reached. The union has also demanded that the workers be paid the bonus for the last two years.
The Shiv Sena-backed BEST Kamgar Sena signed an MoU with the administration earlier this month, which would benefit a little over 8,000 workers. The BEST Workers Union is nearly double in strength with over 15,000 members. BEST officials said they did not know how the strike or the negotiations would play out after the model code of conduct for the elections comes in force.
