BEST proposes ₹1,111-cr wage revision; wet-lease hike alone ₹475 crore

The proposal follows a recent agitation by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, the joint action committee of employee unions. The committee, in June, had demanded implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, settlement of pending wage issues and better conditions for contractual and wet-lease workers

MUMBAI: The BEST has proposed an upward revision in the salaries of its own employees as well as those of wet-lease operators, placing an additional burden of ₹1,111 crore on the undertaking, year on year. This includes ₹475 crore a year for 9,000-odd wet-lease staff, of which 7,000 are bus drivers.

The proposal follows a recent agitation by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, the joint action committee of employee unions (Hindustan Times)

The proposal follows a recent agitation by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, the joint action committee of employee unions. The committee, in June, had demanded implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, settlement of pending wage issues and better conditions for contractual and wet-lease workers.

Pay parity between the undertaking’s own staff and that of wet lease operators was a prominent demand, with unions demanding a monthly wage hike of ₹3,000 for permanent employees and ₹2,000 for contract workers. The proposal, however, does not spell out these details.

The BEST, which depends on borrowings to meet its salary obligations, spends around ₹128 crore on salaries of its own every month. The wage revision will place a further financial burden on the undertaking as implementation of the revised wage settlement from 2016, in line with the Seventh Pay Commission, could result in arrears of ₹6,000 crore. Another ₹300 crore is due to around 2,200 casual workers absorbed by the undertaking in March 2016.

The BEST administration will forward the proposal through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to the Study Committee constituted by the state government. If cleared, the BMC and state urban development department (UDD) will bear the financial burden of the proposed measures.

The Study Committee, headed by the additional chief secretary of the UDD, was set up after the strike in June. It held its first meeting on August 20, after which discussions were held between the BEST administration and trade unions.

There were three main demands. These included revision of the wage settlement for the period 2016 to 2025. The BEST Committee has recommended that the undertaking’s employees be placed in pay scales equivalent to those applicable to the state government and BMC under the Seventh Pay Commission. Around 27,000 employees would benefit from arrears from 2016. This would cost around ₹6,000 crore.

The second recommendation concerns 2,200-odd casual workers absorbed into regular service from March 31, 2016. The financial burden of their absorption will amount to ₹300 crore.

The third and politically significant proposal relates to wet-lease workers. It recommends that 9,000-odd contractual employees engaged through wet-lease operators receive wages at par with permanent BEST employees performing similar work.

Sources in the BEST said these recommendations are based on legal opinions from the Maharashtra government’s law and judiciary department and provisions of Rules 21 and 25 of the Maharashtra Contract Labour Rules, 1971.

After the Study Committee reviews the proposal, it will be discussed by the BMC administration and the UDD, before a final decision is taken.