Transport Workers Go On Open Ended Strike

Transport workers of the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) plan to go ahead with an open-ended strike starting on 12 January 2010 after ongoing talks with company management failed to satisfy worker demands. Transportation workers have been demanding the renewal of worker agreements and are also protesting planned cuts to various company benefits. Talks and various protest actions have been ongoing for the last several months. A major strike would likely create serious transportation and traffic delays in and around Budapest, the capital. The VDSzSz railway workers' union indicated that it may join BKV workers in a sympathy strike. A news conference is planned for sometime on 11 January to make an official announcement whether rail workers will join the protest action.