Best Proposes 1 111 Cr Wage Revision Wet Lease Hike Alone 475 Crore
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 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...
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. 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.
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.
Shashank Rao is a Senior Assistant Editor having worked for over two decades. He reports on Mass Transportation including Railways and Roadways, Automobiles besides Urban Public Infrastructure. With ear to the ground, he is monitors and reports Mumbai's growth trajectory. He is a Rail fan, passionate about Public Policy. When I'm not busy, I read comics and watch anime and football.Read More