The strike will effectively close operations in the Bucharest subway between 4.00 and 16.00 local time, every day for the duration of the strike.
A warning strike already took place on Thursday, between 04.00 and 06.00 local time.
Subway worker unions rejected on Monday the latest collective bargaining agreement offer from Metrorex, as its stipulated wage increase did not meet their demands. Union leaders are also threatening to go on general strike in case there is no negotiation progress.
“We apologize to the passengers for the discomfort which will be created by stopping the Bucharest subway for two hours, but as all Romanian citizens we have this constitutional right (…) It will last two hours, between 4 and 6 in the morning, and the general strike will last between 4 and 16, most probably on Monday morning,” said in a press statement Ion Radoi, the chairman of the Subway Free Syndicates Union.
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for subway workers have stalled for the last couple of weeks, as Metrorex representatives announced that they cannot legally accept the union’s wage increase demands due to budget constraints.