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Strike disrupts public transport in Portugal (Roundup)
Apr 27, 2010, 15:11 GMT
Lisbon - A public transport strike Tuesday disrupted rail, road and ferry traffic all over Portugal as it went into its second day.
Rail traffic was the most affected, with the exception of international trains, the rail company CP said.
Long-distance national and regional train traffic came largely to a halt, as did most suburban trains in urban areas such as Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra.
Bus and ferry operators were also staging work stoppages during the three-day strike against salary freezes in the public and private sector.
People trying to cross the river Tagus in Lisbon often found no transport, while bus traffic was somewhat less affected, reports said.
The strike increased private car traffic, causing jams on access roads to Porto and on some roads to Lisbon.
The work stoppage was estimated to affect nearly a million public transport users especially in the Lisbon and Porto areas.
Pedro Silva, a minister at the prime minister's office, urged trade unions to 'reflect' and to be 'responsible' at the time of an economic crisis.
The Portuguese government has frozen salaries at public companies in an attempt to reduce the country's debt burden.
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