Bonus issue: BEST dharna on Oct 6

BEST Workers Union vice-president Sharad Rao accused the management of not being receptive to the demands of recognised unions. “Instead they are holding talks with the unrecognised BEST Kamgaar Sena, a Shiv Sena union, on vital issues such as bonus,” he claimed.

The demands of the unions include extension of medical insurance to the employees’ families and introduction ofpension for them. He claimed that their demands were justified as BEST was making huge profits annually. “The BEST budget has kept aside Rs 31 crore for giving bonus alone, and our demand for bonus, even if it is at par with the employees of the municipal corporation, will amount to Rs 39 crore,” he said.

He claimed that BEST was making profits of nearly Rs 150 crore every year. “Even the transport sector of the undertaking rakes in Rs 35 crore as annual profits,” he claimed.

The unions have demanded a bonus of 20-25 per cent of their pay this year. Rao has urged for Mayor Nandu Satam’s intervention for finding a solution to the problem.

Meanwhile, in a hurriedly held press conference, Satam washed his hands of the matter saying that it depended on Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s decision after a meeting with BEST committee chairman Arvind Nerkar, on Monday.