Relief for Mumbai commuters as BEST drivers, conductors call off strike

MumbaiBEST bus drivers and conductors on Wednesday evening withdrew their flash strike after they arrived at a solution with the management over implementation of the new computerised scheduling system Thousands of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST bus drivers and conductors had gone on a flash strike on Tuesday against the new system and had refused to report to work despite an order from the Bombay High Court A meeting chaired by Maharashtra Chief Secretary J S Saharia with BEST General Manager Om Prakash Gupta and union head Sharad Rao on Wednesday helped in resolving the issue Saharia said bus services will resume immediately as they have withdrawn their strike Also read BEST flash strike HC asks drivers conductors to end stirBuses piled up at the Mumbai Central BEST depot due to the strike yesterday PicsSuresh KKMy first priority was that they should withdraw their strike as it had caused tremendous inconvenience to commuters he addedFollowing their refusal to resume work on Tuesday BEST on Wednesday again moved a division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah against the strikeThe court was later informed by BEST counsel M P S Rao that the strike has been called off following meetings between the management and union membersThe matter has been resolved The implementation of the new computerised scheduling system has been postponed till June 1 However as pilot project the system will be implemented at the Malad depot to see what difficulties arise Rao saidThe High Court accepted the statement and said Since the parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding we direct the BEST union to issue instructions to all its members to resume work immediately The workers shall also be asked not resort to such strikes in futureWe do not want to encourage such strikes In fact we wanted the state government to take action against the workers under the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act MESMA People are inconvenienced But we wanted the issue to be worked out the court notedMumbais lifelineIf the locals are Mumbairsquos lifeline the BEST buses are its veins But a strike on Tuesday halted all activity of this crucial civic organ shooting up blood pressures in direct proportion to the extortionate fares that cabbies and autowallahs quoted in its wakeThe Brihanmumbai Electric Supply And Transport BEST management claimed that drivers and conductors who called for the stopwork remonstrance had misunderstood the new work policy and thus went on strike thinking they would have to work longer hoursThe authority failed to redeem the situation or get through to the union leader And it doesnrsquot seem like the disorder would straighten out today with union leader Sharad Rao hinting that the drivers may continue the strike The morning yesterday was maddening for people who kept standing at bus stops waiting for their ride and finally realising that the buses would not plyAfter the public holiday on Monday Tuesday was the first working weekday for many But the public including schoolchildren could not get to their destinations Surprisingly the general manager of the BEST OP Gupta also came to know of the flash strike at 8 am yesterdayShared rickshaws and taxis pounced on the opportunity to fleece passengers after stuffing them in their vehicles They ferried as many as five commuters in one ride Even the regular cabs and autos were overcharging citing inadequate gas in their vehicles and the numerous passengers ready to pay moreUntil morning the BEST had managed to run eight buses of which one was damaged after a pelting incident in Kandivli W By afternoon two more buses got on the road To get the services up and running the BEST management approached the High Court which declared the strike illegal and directed bus unions to resume work to end the tremendous inconvenience to people But there was no improvement in the situation till eveningSources said that they couldnrsquot invoke the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act MESMA as the period during which it can be invoked had expired Senior BEST officials said ldquoWe then took permission and revived it in the eveningrdquo The buses slowly made their way back on the roadsSchoolchildren get late for final examsSchool students were stranded on Tuesday morning when the BEST drivers and conductors went on a strike putting the kids and their parents in a tight spot as they had no inkling of the strike The bus drivers and conductors didnrsquot realise that the final examinations were going on in schools across the cityMarooned by the BEST people stood interminably in snaking queues at taxi standsAfter waiting for half an hour the parents of students who take the civic service to school gave up hope and scampered to make to school in time While some rushed to catch taxis a few dropped their children on bikes and friendrsquos vehicles Some working parents had to take leave just to drop their kids to school so they didnrsquot miss out on the final examsA total of 321 BEST services are provided exclusively for schoolgoing kids in the city Mayur Jadhav Std IX student Raje Shivaji Vidyalaya King George School Dadar who resides in Sion said ldquoI am waiting for my father to come and take me homeI take the BEST bus every day to school But early morning today I saw on news channels that the buses are on strike and I rushed to the school in a taxi Today I had my practical exams as well extra classes for the next academic yearrdquoSionrsquos Sandesh Golatkar father of Shrushti a Std III student of the same school said ldquoMy daughter had her English exam today When I came to drop her at the stop and the bus didnrsquot come for half an hour I went to the depot to check if there was a strikeThen I had to take my daughter to school because her finalyear exams are going on and also pick her up I had to take leave from work for this The BEST drivers have the contact numbers of parents and they should have informed us about this strike which would have saves us a lot of panic and vexationrdquoChildren cross the bus stop outside the Bandra railway station and make their way to school many have final exams going on PicSatyajit DesaiSharwari Deolekar a parent from Worli said ldquoBecause of the exams I had to drop my son to school and bring him back in a taxi We live near the highway and when I saw no buses were plying I thought there could be a strikerdquoSanket Kotkar brother of Soham a Std IV student said ldquoI brought my brother and his few friends on bike when I realised that the BEST is on strike For half an hour we waited for the bus then rushed to the school on the bikerdquoBEST overworking drivers says union leader RaoBut authority says drivers and conductors worked for longer hours before April 1The BEST flash strike yesterday occurred owing to differences of opinion between the undertaking and the driversrsquo unions The administration called union leader Sharad Rao for a meeting at 11 am but he refused to show up ldquoWe were asked to come over a telephone callThis is not how one approaches a talk Also the administration breached the promises it made on February 26rdquo said Rao ldquoIn case the authorities take stern action against the bus drivers our auto unions could also join the protestrdquo he said ominouslyThe roads were packed with threewheelers which saw a surge in business as people were left with no option but to commute in autos if not cabs PicSayed Sameer AbediRao accused the enterprise of torturing the drivers and conductors by making them work for 12 hours and giving them inadequate breaks He claimed that the depot managers forced the drivers and conductors to sign their work cards see box two days ago and intimidated them because of which ldquosome of them suffered health problems including cardiac issuesrdquoBut the management claims that the new schedule will in fact help the work culture According to the officials on March 1 627 people worked for 1112 hours in a day with breaks But as per the revised schedule on April 1 only half the number of workers would have to work for such a long durationldquoUntil recently the union members had no problem talking over the phonerdquo said BEST GM OP Gupta adding ldquoIn any case the schedule is good for the employeesrdquo The BEST is expected to save at least 5 per cent on labour costs which is a lionrsquos share of their overall expenditure