MUMBAI: Bus services from BEST’s Poisar depot were hit on Friday morning after contract drivers stopped work over delayed salary payments, with only 10 of the depot’s 29 buses being operated, causing inconvenience to commuters.The protest was staged by drivers working under a sub-contractor of TSSL following a delay in payment of their salaries. Of the 29 buses at the Poisar depot, only 10 could be operated with the help of BEST’s own drivers.BJP BEST committee member Ajay Singh raised the issue during Friday’s BEST committee meeting, questioning why contract workers were not being paid on time despite BEST releasing nearly 70% of the contractor’s bill as an interim payment on or before the seventh of every month.Singh said the contractor must ensure that salaries of contract drivers and other employees are paid by the seventh of each month from the amount received from BEST. He also stressed that the approved interim salary hike of Rs 2,000 for drivers should be paid on time.According to Singh, while BEST releases payments to the OEM/main operator, the money does not always reach the sub-contractor on time, directly affecting salary payments to drivers and, consequently, bus operations.“This is not merely an issue of employees’ salaries. It is also about the regularity of bus services, commuter convenience and BEST’s reputation,” Singh said.The disruption was particularly concerning as a similar situation had arisen for the second time at Poisar depot in the past two months after PMI began operations there.Services returned to normal on Friday afternoon after the pending salaries of the contract employees were credited.
