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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Subway workers have staged a two-hour strike in the Romanian capital and threatened an all-out walkout if the government doesn't agree to their wage demands.
Trains didn't run early Thursday after talks broke down between the subway trade union and management. Bucharest authorities laid on extra buses and trams.
The union wants a 42 percent salary hike, while managers have offered 18 percent. Union leader Ion Radoi says employees will go on strike next week if the impasse isn't broken.
Transport Minister Lucian Sova calls the demands "blackmail."
Subway workers have an average monthly salary of 7,300 lei ($1,765), significantly higher than the national average.
Some 700,000 people use the subway daily. A single journey costs 2.5 lei ($0.6).
Built in the 1980s, the network only covers part of the city.
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