No impact on BEST bus services due to union leader Shashank Rao's hunger strike, says official

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST administration officials on Tuesday said that there was no negative difference in the number of buses turned out on August 18 2026 compared with August 17 amid a hunger strike by union leader Shashank RaoAccording to a BEST officer the turnout position of both BESTowned and wetlease buses remained stable between the two daysMore buses in serviceThe BEST administration said its data showed that 13 more buses were put into service on August 18 than on August 17The statement was issued in the wake of the ongoing hunger strike by Shashank Rao on TuesdayThe administration said there was no decline in the overall BEST bus turnout despite the protestBEST stated that the comparison included both buses owned by the transport undertaking and buses operated under its wetlease arrangementPending demandsThe BEST Workersrsquo Union has announced an indefinite hunger strike over a range of longpending demands concerning BEST employees wetlease bus workers and retired staffAn official statement the union has alleged that several demands relating to salaries service conditions pay parity and financial support to the BEST have not been resolved despite repeated representationsAccording to the unions press note BEST employees workers employed through private contractors to operate wetlease buses and retired employees are facing various unresolved issuesThe union has said that the pending matters need to be addressed urgently and has warned that the agitation will continue until appropriate action is takenOne of the key demands raised by the union is the merger of the BEST undertakings budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations budgetThe union has demanded that the BEST budget be incorporated into the civic bodys budget to ensure adequate financial support for the undertakingPayrelated demandsThe union has also raised demands concerning the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations and salaryrelated issuesIt has sought payment of pending dues and demanded that BEST employees receive benefits comparable with employees of the municipal corporationAnother demand concerns workers who have been employed on a temporary or contractual basis in BESTs electricity departmentThe union has sought measures to provide job security and regular employment to eligible workers who have served the undertaking for several yearslsquoEqual pay for equal workrsquo for wetlease workersThe union has also demanded implementation of the principle of lsquoequal pay for equal workrsquo for employees working on buses operated under the wetlease systemIt has argued that workers performing similar duties should receive fair and comparable wages and service benefitsThe union has further sought proper implementation of existing agreements and government or civic decisions concerning BEST workersIt has called for adequate financial assistance to BEST so that the undertaking can meet its operational expenses and ensure timely payment of salaries and other dues to employeesUnion warns of continued agitationThe BEST Workersrsquo Union has said that the demands raised in the press note concern both serving and retired employees and require urgent interventionThe union has appealed to the authorities to hold discussions with workersrsquo representatives and resolve the issues without further delay