The one-day strike called by the trade union on Tuesday, demanding ‘Equal work, Equal pay’ and other benefits for BEST undertaking’s wet lease workers, impacted bus operations, with around 578 buses staying off the road and nearly 70 per cent of buses running for the day. The protest, led by BEST Workers’ Union general secretary Shashank Sharad Rao, included a morcha to push for parity with full-time BEST employees. Fortunately, SSC exam students had a study leave, avoiding any inconvenience.

“The operation of BEST bus services was affected, but the BEST tried to facilitate passengers by inducting more buses and maintaining the bus service with the help of regular BEST drivers and conductors,” a BEST spokesperson said. “Of the scheduled turnout of 1,969 buses, about 1,391 buses were able to be operated as 578 buses stayed off the roads due to the protests,” he added.