Traffic chaos in Madrid as subway remains closed

Jun 30, 2010, 12:09 GMT

Madrid - Transport chaos reigned Wednesday in Spain's capital Madrid as a strike forced the closure of the underground for the second consecutive day.

The strike by underground employees affected some 2 million commuters, forcing them to seek alternative means of transport. The increased use of private cars jammed traffic, while buses were overcrowded and the competition for taxis was fierce.

The underground provided minimum services when the strike began on Monday. On Tuesday, however, all underground trains stopped circulating, plunging the city of more than 3 million residents into a traffic chaos.

Unions announced that the strike would continue, but that minimum services would be provided on Thursday and Friday.

The Madrid regional authorities accused pickets of preventing engine drivers from working. Four underground employees were injured by pickets preventing them from going to work on Wednesday, sources of the underground said.

About 200 underground employees faced sanctions for not supplying the minimum services required by the law.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega urged the Madrid authorities to resume talks with trade unions in order to solve the conflict.

About 7,500 employees of the underground had been called to follow the strike protesting wage cuts.

The Spanish government has slashed public sector salaries by an average of 5 per cent as part of its attempts to cut the country's public deficit of 11.2 per cent. The Madrid regional authorities announced similar wage cuts.