BEST workers suspend strike

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Workers’ Union, which was on a hunger strike since two days, has suspended the strike Thursday night.

The union will resume its strike on September 7 if the management fails to implement fresh wage agreement on the basis of the seventh pay commission.

Former chief minister of Maharashtra, Narayan Rane, who was once chairman of the BEST committee, orchestrated the suspension of the strike.

Mr Rane met union members at the Wadala depot and asked them to suspend the strike in view of the approaching Ganesh festival so that workers and BEST services could remained unaffected.

Union leader Shashank Rao, who spearheaded the hunger strike, had to be taken to KEM hospital Thursday evening as his health deteriorated.

However, he was discharged after medical treatment and doctors said that he was stable.

Of the 32,000 BEST employees, 98 per cent voted in favour of the strike against delay in the implementation of the seventh pay commission. Thereafter, the Mr Rao-led union began their indefinite hunger strike Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena-backed BEST Kamgar Sena on Wednesday met Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and declared that the demand for fresh wage agreement had been accepted by the administration.

Senior Sena leader Anil Parab also said that Mr Thackeray would meet municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi in the next two days to decide on the funding to BEST.

The management is expected to officially declare implementation of the fresh wage agreement in the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport committee meeting Friday.