Why are BEST workers protesting in Mumbai today?

3 min readMumbaiJun 19, 2026 12:01 PM IST

BEST bus strike in Mumbai: Protesters raise slogans in front of a bus on Friday (ANI screengrab)

Despite a court forbidding a cease-work protest via an ad-interim order, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees are joining a strike in Mumbai.

The large-scale protest started at the Dharavi depot on Thursday, pressing for a pay revision and the resolution of several pending demands that have remained unaddressed for years. As the demonstration unfolded and spread to other parts of Mumbai on Friday, authorities deployed large police teams at various depots to ensure the situation remained under control.

#WATCH | Mumbai, Maharashtra: Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus staff stage a protest at the Dharavi depot demanding a salary hike and fulfilment of other related grievances. A heavy police force is deployed on the spot. pic.twitter.com/0u4AfnxfVg

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2026

Here’s why workers are protesting.

Retirees, contract workers left unpaid

BEST workers’ union leader Ranganath Satavase highlighted the financial difficulty that serving and retired employees are facing. He told news agency ANI that retirees had not received their dues since 2022. Waitlisted workers are denied even minimum wages, which is a responsibility that lies directly with the administration and the government, he added.

Fear over PPP model for depots

Satavase also raised concerns over the government’s plan to redevelop BEST depots under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. He pointed out that such arrangements typically involve handing over depots on a 99-year lease, raising questions among workers about whether BEST would survive in its current form if the plan goes ahead.

Demand to merge BEST and BMC budgets

The workers are also protesting the non-fulfilment of the long-pending demand to merge BEST’s budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Budget to strengthen the financial footing of the transport body.

‘100% of workers’ behind the protest: Union

Dinesh, another protester, told ANI that the strike is backed by the entire BEST workforce, with all 12 well-known unions participating in it. He said the wage agreement across 2016 to 2021 remains unresolved. The retired employees are yet to receive their gratuity payments. Protests are now underway at 27 depots around the city, he said. The movement will continue indefinitely if the administration fails to act, he added.

(The article has been curated by Seekriti Saha, who is an intern at The Indian Express)