MUMBAI: Mumbai’s BEST bus services are set to return to normal after employees’ unions called off their indefinite strike on Sunday following a meeting with Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde at Sahyadri Guest House. The strike, which entered its third day, had disrupted bus operations across Mumbai, leaving thousands of commuters affected.The BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, a joint forum of multiple employee unions, had called the strike over several unresolved demands. These included the merger of BEST’s budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) budget and the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for the 2016–2026 period.The unions were also seeking clearance of pending legal dues for retired employees, an end to the contractual employment system in the transport and electricity wings, and the absorption of workers employed under wet-lease bus contracts into BEST.
