Following the move, a few drivers and conductors have reported back for duty. But the BEST management does not plan to resume any service yet as a very small number of staff have resumed duty.
Sources in the department said that nine drivers have come forward to ply the buses along with five conductors.
Bus drivers and conductors went on flash strike on Tuesday morning to protest against the new computerized scheduling system implemented by the management.
The unions are opposed to the 12 to 13-hour work schedule for 20% staffers and want the earlier manual system of scheduling to continue.
BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta has called union leader Sharad Rao and also Shiv Sena union leaders for talks later today in a last-ditch attempt to persuade them to get the drivers and conductors back on duty.
He defended the new system and said that it will optimize the use of workforce, ensure better frequency of buses and save Rs 32 crore for the undertaking annually.
Gupta, in an earlier interview to this newspaper, had said that a majority of drivers and conductors were not against the new system.
"In fact, we have been running the system successfully at a few depots since November. Now, that we want to implement it at all the 26 depots, the unions have raised objections."
He did not rule out the possibility that the strike was a fallout of an inter-union rivalry.
But, the union leaders strongly deny this. Apparently, all the eight unions in the transport undertaking, including the one led by Sharad Rao, have denied any role in instigating employees for a strike.
"This is absolutely false. We have not called for any strike. This time, the workers have decided to stand united and they have gone in protest on their own. I will explain my position to the general manager. Also, we will demand that there should be changes in the new automated system as it will affect the health of our workers," said Sharad Rao.
Sena union leader Suhas Samant has said that the implementation of the new system should be postponed to June 1.
"There is a need for workers to be taken into confidence before introducing any new scheme. You cannot force upon workers a new software, imported from a foreign country, without taking their suggestions," he said.
The BEST management is apprehensive about resuming services for the fear that the buses will be attacked as was the case on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, a bus which had left the Poisar depot and was ferrying passengers from Kandivli station was pelted with stones. The windscreen got smashed and the driver also got injured on the forehead. He is believed to be out of danger.
"We cannot take any risks and are waiting for more employees to join duty,'' said a senior official from traffic wing.
The BEST is also awaiting the court's decision on the matter. It has already invoked sections 8,9,10,11 and 12 of the MESMA (Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act).
The MESMA empowers the authorities to take stringent steps, including suspension, dismissals against the employees.
Under the stringent law, those provoking or instigating workers to go on strike can go behind bars for one year, and it will be a non-bailable offence.
However, it is not clear if the BEST management plans to prosecute union leaders under MESMA.
The BEST officials said that apart from invoking MESMA, they have also moved the Bombay high court.
"We have legal sanctions to implement the new automated system. The industrial court too has approved of the new software. Not accepting the system will amount to contempt of court," an official said.
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