Mumbai: 98% of BEST workers vote for strike

The voting was held at 27 BEST depots on Friday to decide if workers should go on strike and the result announced on Saturday. MUMBAI: Nearly 98% of BEST workers voted in favour of a strike to press for their demand, including signing a new wage agreement, merger of BEST budget with BMC budget, Diwali bonus among other things. The voting was held at 27 BEST depots on Friday to decide if workers should go on strike and the result announced on Saturday.

Shashank Rao of BEST workers' union said, "In all, 17,925 employees voted. Of these, 17,497 voted in favour of strike." Now, a joint action panel of unions will decide on the strike at a later date. A dharna is planned at Wadala depot on Monday from 11 am to draw the administration's attention to their demands.

The Shiv Sena union is not part of the strike. If the strike happens, it will cripple the transport lifeline as around 30 lakh passengers depend on BEST buses daily.

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