ARGENTINA: Commuters suffer in Buenos Aires as ten-day subway strike causes gridlock and travel chaos

Record ID: 340878

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Commuters suffer in Buenos Aires as ten-day subway strike causes gridlock and travel chaos
  • Date: 13th August 2012
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (AUGUST 13, 2012) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF BUS STATION PEOPLE LEAVING TRAIN STATION COMMUTERS WAITING FOR BUSES COMMUTERS BUYING TICKETS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COMMUTER HORACIO CARMONA SAYING: "Yes , it's a shame. The truth is you can't get around. People lose many hours of work. Unfortunately things are like this. It's unfortunate." COMMUTERS LEAVI
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Politics,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVAA7JGME0BZSJ6MF4PSE5XK51FP
  • Story Text: Frustrated commuters in Buenos Aires suffered through day ten of a subway strike on Monday (August 13) as workers demand higher pay and a better budget for maintenance.
    Representatives for the city government and the subway workers' union failed to come to an agreement at talks on Sunday and weary commuters, some 900,000 of them according to local journalists, faced another day of long lines, packed buses and delays.
    Subway workers are demanding a 28 percent wage increase to keep up with rampant inflation.
    Meanwhile, commuters like Horacio Carmona are taking the fall.
    "Yes, it's a shame. The truth is you can't get around. People lose many hours of work. Unfortunately things are like this. It's unfortunate," Carmona said.
    Buenos Aires' vast public transportation system is economical for passengers, but much of it is in disrepair and prone to accidents. A train crash in February killed 49 people.
    "The subway runs sometimes and the trains are terrible. They are all covered in paint and you can't see anything. The subways too, but the trains are a disaster. We should be complaining everyday," said Ludmila Danjeker.
    "It's tremendous because we can't get around. Now we travel in the train like livestock," added Leonarda Mercado.
    The city and national government have been wrangling over who will take charge of the subways, a highly subsidised system that is a drain on coffers.
    President Cristina Fernandez's government tried to turn the subway over to Mayor Mauricio Macri in January, but he has refused to take it on without money to revamp the system.
    Nestor Segovia, a leader for the subway workers' union, said the subway system needs investment.
    "Metrovias is longer being maintained. Look, the cars are painted and broken. We don't get paid enough to work. We don't have raw materials. We don't have replacement parts. We can't work," he said.
    Segovia added that workers see it as a service, not a business.
    "As long as they see the subway as a business, this will not be solved. The subway must be seen as a public service," he said.
    After Sunday's failed talks, local news outlets had a hard time seeing in an end in sight as the strike dominated morning headlines.
    The subway in Buenos Aires is often closed down over labour disputes, but rarely for more than a few hours at a time.
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