Report of Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
Workers of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) public transport buses in Mumbai went on strike from the midnight of 19 June 2026, under the leadership of the BEST Sanyukta Kamgar Kruti Samiti, which comprises 12 workers’ unions. Workers and contract workers are participating in this strike in large numbers.
The main demands of the workers are:
- One-time settlement of crores of pending dues to retired employees
- Implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations for the 2016-2026 period, and implementation of 8th pay commission when it comes
- Merger of BEST budget with BMC budget
- Absorption of contract workers into the BEST workforce
- Recruitment of vacant posts, including 3000 conductors
- Expansion of the bus fleet to 5,000 buses under BEST ownership
- Scrapping of privatisation and public-private partnership (PPP) models within the undertaking
BEST workers have not been paid their dues since 2022. The BEST undertaking receives funds from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). According to Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST, a memorandum (No. Secretary/3573/2024 dated 07.02.2024) of the Administrator, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, noted that dues and capital expenditures of Rs. 12,143.61 crores owed to BEST are yet to be cleared.
Kruti Samiti leader Ranganath Satavase said, “Workers who retired did not get their money since 2022, the waitlisted workers are not getting even the minimum wages, so it is the responsibility of the administration, the government to pay that.”
In a joint meeting of workers, he further said, “We are having to run from lawyer to lawyer and court to court like beggars, asking for our own money! And what does the administration say? Today, it says, take 10%; tomorrow, it will say, take 15% … As a worker, I have served the city for 35 years with my sweat and blood, and now I am being denied the right to retire with dignity!”
The BEST bus service carries around 23-25 lakh passengers daily. Yet, the undertaking has only 2,792 buses. Of these, only 243 are actually owned by BEST; the rest are operated on a wet-lease basis through private contractors. Contract employees working on wet-leased buses work long hours under stressful conditions. They are not given adequate training, leading to a high number of accidents.
Striking workers are demanding that wet-leasing should be scrapped, contract workers should be regularized, and the proposed sale and leasing of depots should be cancelled.
Notably, the state government invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) on 12 June, declaring that BEST workers are providing essential services and thereby prohibiting employees and contractual employees from striking.
This raises a question: the BEST service is essential enough to prohibit strikes, but is it not essential enough to prohibit contractualisation and wet-leasing and to ensure adequate numbers of buses and workers? Or does a service become essential only when it suits the state administration?
Not only that, the BEST undertaking filed a complaint of “unfair labour practice” before the industrial court of Mumbai, seeking to stop the strike. The court passed an order dated 18 June, temporarily restraining workers from striking.
As workers themselves have pointed out, hon’ble courts in the country have not passed any orders against contractors, managements and governments that violate laws and implement anti-people, anti-worker measures.
BEST workers have bravely and unitedly decided to proceed with the strike despite the state administration’s attempts to throttle their struggle. Leaders of the Kruti Samiti have stated that any decision regarding the struggle will be taken only after full consultation with the workers.
All workers, passengers, and citizens of Mumbai must strongly support BEST workers’ strike!