Court Order and MESMA Block Planned BEST Strike in Mumbai

A planned indefinite strike by employees of Mumbai's BEST Undertaking was halted on June 19, 2026, after an industrial court issued a temporary order prohibiting the action and the Maharashtra government invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA). The strike had been called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, an action committee comprising 12 unions, to begin from midnight following unmet employee demands.

BEST, which operates as Mumbai's second-largest public transport provider after the suburban railway network, serves approximately 25 lakh passengers daily through a fleet of about 2,700 buses—of which only 243 are owned by BEST while the remainder are hired from private operators on a wet-lease basis. The undertaking also supplies electricity to over 10 lakh consumers in the island city. The strike posed a significant threat to the city's transportation and essential services infrastructure.

Employee demands include merger of BEST's budget with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), one-time settlement of legal dues for retired employees, implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations for 2016-2026, abolition of contractual arrangements in transport and electricity departments, and absorption of wet-lease bus workers into BEST. Additional demands include recruitment to vacant posts, operation of 6,000 buses under direct BEST ownership, staff promotions, and rejection of privatisation and public-private partnership models.

Following the strike announcement, BEST approached the industrial court, which issued an interim order prohibiting employee unions from proceeding with the action. Mumbai Police warned of legal consequences for disrupting public services or damaging property, and officials stated the government had made the agitation illegal under MESMA provisions. However, divisions emerged within the union movement when two unions—Shramik Utkarsh Sabha and BEST Kamgar Union, represented by BJP-affiliated leaders Prasad Lad and Shashank Rao—distanced themselves from the protest, stating they would pursue resolution through ongoing dialogue with administration and the state government.