An official statement from the striking contract employees of BEST said that by protesting many times through agitations, strike, protests and fasts etc.

It further said that the workers employed in the Power Supply Division of BEST have a long-standing grievance concerning their employment status

The statement said that Instead of offering compassionate appointments to the children of retired BEST workers, the Electricity Supply Administration has resorted to employing them as contract workers

The protesting workers have pleaded to look into their demands and resolve their issues only then they would discontinue their protest

Earlier, in August, the wet lease bus drivers of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) had gone on strike with similar demands

The protests and strike then had also affected public transportation in Mumbai

As the protests had in August gained momentum, more than 2,000 contractual drivers had joined in support

However, the BEST officials and private operators in August protests had expressed their dilemma and the challenging nature of dialogues with the striking drivers

The sit-in protest then was initially led by Raghunath Khajurkar, a BEST contractual worker, and his wife Pradnya