BEST Proposes Rs 1,111-Crore Wage Revision For 38,200 Mumbai Transport Workers
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has proposed an upward revision in the salaries of its own staff as well as workers hired through wet-lease operators across Mumbai. The move, recommended during a BEST Committee meeting on Thursday, places an additional annual burden of Rs 1,111 crore on the cash-strapped undertaking. The decision follows an agitation staged in June by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, a joint action committee of employee unions.
The proposed revision is expected to benefit a total workforce of 38,200. This includes BEST's permanent staff alongside roughly 9,000 contractual workers employed by wet-lease operators, more than 7,000 of whom are bus drivers. The salary hike for wet-lease personnel alone will cost Rs 475 crore per year, aiming to bring their wages on par with permanent BEST staff who perform similar duties.
The proposal stems from three primary union demands raised during the June agitation, which called for the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, settlement of long-pending wage disputes, and improved terms for contractual staff. During earlier discussions, unions had sought a monthly increase of Rs 3,000 for permanent employees and Rs 2,000 for contract staff, although specific monthly amounts were not explicitly detailed in the proposal.
Implementing the wage revision in accordance with the Seventh Pay Commission from 2016 through 2025 carries substantial financial implications. The undertaking projects arrears of around Rs 6,000 crore to benefit approximately 27,000 employees. Furthermore, an additional Rs 300 crore will be required to settle dues for about 2,200 casual workers who were absorbed into regular service on March 31, 2016. BEST currently spends around Rs 128 crore each month on salaries for its own workforce and relies on borrowings to meet payroll obligations.
Sources in the undertaking indicated that the recommendations for pay parity are grounded in legal opinions from the Maharashtra government's law and judiciary department, citing provisions under Rules 21 and 25 of the Maharashtra Contract Labour Rules, 1971.
The BEST administration plans to forward the recommendations through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to a dedicated Study Committee established by the state government. The Study Committee, headed by the additional chief secretary of the Urban Development Department (UDD), was formed after the June strike and held its initial meeting on August 20. If the proposal secures clearance, the financial liability will be borne jointly by the BMC and the state UDD following final discussions.
