Employees affiliated with the BEST Workers' Union will begin an indefinite strike from August 18 over pending wage settlements, financial support for the civic transport undertaking and retirement benefits, union general secretary Shashank Rao said on Monday.
Rao said the agitation will begin at 11.30 am outside the union's office at Opera House in Mumbai, according to News18 Marathi.
The union is demanding an immediate financial allocation for the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's budget, along with implementation of wage settlements covering 2016-2021 and 2021-2026.
The strike call follows a meeting convened by the union on Monday to discuss unresolved employee demands and proposals concerning BEST's assets. The union had said ahead of the meeting that a larger agitation could be announced if the issues remained unresolved.
The extent to which Tuesday's action will affect BEST bus services was not immediately clear. The union has not specified the number of employees expected to participate.
Wage dispute continued after June settlement
The latest action comes less than two months after BEST employees ended a three-day strike following talks with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik.
That strike, which began on June 19, involved employees from the transport and electricity divisions and disrupted bus operations across Mumbai. Workers had sought, among other things, a wage settlement, payment of retirement dues and greater financial support for BEST.
The June strike was withdrawn after the state government announced interim monthly increases of Rs 3,000 for permanent BEST employees and Rs 2,000 for workers employed by wet-lease operators until a new wage agreement was finalised.
The government also agreed that pending gratuity dues would be cleared during the current financial year.
The interim increases did not constitute the final wage settlement now being sought by the union.
The wage issue covers two periods, 2016-2021 and 2021-2026, according to the union's latest demands.
Financial support remains part of union demands
BEST's finances have also remained at the centre of negotiations between the undertaking and the BMC.
The BMC's 2026-27 budget proposed a Rs 1,000-crore grant to BEST. The civic body said in February that it had provided more than Rs 12,000 crore in financial assistance to the undertaking since 2012-13.
The Rs 1,000-crore disbursement was initially held back by the BMC Standing Committee in June, with members seeking more information on BEST's financial position. The committee subsequently approved the payment on June 18.
BEST, in its budget estimates, had projected a loss of Rs 2,439 crore for 2026-27 and sought financial assistance of Rs 4,000 crore from the BMC. The civic administration responded with a 15-point reform plan aimed at improving revenue and operating efficiency.
BEST later said it intended to become financially self-sustainable from 2027 and expected 2026 to be the last year in which it would seek financial assistance from the BMC.
The workers' union, however, has repeatedly sought a more permanent financial arrangement between the civic body and BEST.
Retirement dues, pay parity have been recurring issues
Payment of dues to retired employees has figured in several earlier rounds of agitation.
In September 2025, the BEST Workers' Union said gratuity payments were pending for about 4,500 retired employees and sought their release along with other demands. Rao had also called for changes in the undertaking's bus procurement model and closer integration of BEST's finances with those of the BMC.
Rao began an indefinite hunger strike in November 2025 over employee demands including gratuity payments and equal pay for contractual drivers performing the same work as permanent BEST drivers.
The issue of pay parity for contract and wet-lease workers has continued since then. During the June strike, unions again demanded that contractual drivers be absorbed as full-time employees and receive higher pay and benefits.
Tuesday's strike call brings those unresolved employee issues back into focus two months after the previous stoppage ended on the basis of interim relief and government assurances.
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