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Our Correspondent in Bombay
The management of Bombay Electrical Supply Transport undertaking has decided to file a contempt of court notice against the striking union leaders after they failed to report on duty in spite of the fact that the industrial court had issued a stay on their strike.
Speaking to rediff.com, General Manager of BEST Rahul Asthana said: "The industrial court had told the union that they must report to duty and not strike work. And they went against the court's decision. So we are filing a contempt case."
The unions are demanding diwali ex-gratia and medical expenses, as they feel that their demand have not been met by the administration for the last three years.
However, the administration is firm on not giving these dues, as organisation is in a bad financial condition.
The management claims that BEST has incurred a loss of Rs 450 million in 2001-2002.
The management further claims that the establishment cost has risen considerably and even if they continue with no growth plans, they will certainly incur a loss of Rs 1.35 billion next year. So it is not possible to pay the ex-gratia and medical expenses to the striking employees.
They also claim that when the undertaking incurred profit, the ex-gratia had been duly paid to the workers.
However, union leaders insist that BEST is making profits but they do not want to give the workers their rightful dues.
Nearly 4.2 million people travel by BEST everyday, which employs 47,000 workers.
ALSO SEE BEST buses off Bombay roads, employees demand diwali ex-gratia
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