Subway Strike Cripples Lisbon Traffic

A 24-hour strike by Lisbon subway workers has thrown much of the Portuguese capital's public transport into chaos. Staff were up in arms against the government's plans to privatize the metro system.



Tuesday's strike by workers of the Metropolitano de Lisboa brought traffic in the capital to a standstill, police told reporters. They also spoke of large-scale congestion on highways around Lisbon and major access roads as a result of the protracted industrial action.



Staff staged their third work stoppage in two months to voice their anger over the government's resolve to privatize a number of public transport companies, with the metropolitan underground system to change into private hands for at least nine years.



Portugal's public transport system has run up debts of around 16 billion euros ($20.4 billion) and is no longer in a position to make major investments in services and infrastructure.



Ownership upheaval



The government also intends to sell flag carrier TAP Air Portugal and grants concessions to run Lisbon bus company Carris and parts of the national rail company Comboios de Portugal.



Transport workers are among the southern European nation's most active and most militant labor groups, with subway staff having already walked off the job for the 12th time this year.



Unions fears the privatization of transport firms will result in worse pay deals and working conditions.



hg/ng (AP, dpa)