FIFA World Cup 2014: Crackdown on strikers, police uses tear gas

Sao Paulo: Brazilian police used tear gas on Monday to disperse metro workers on strike in Sao Paulo in defiance of a court order to return to work, causing major traffic congestion just three days before the city hosts the opening match of the World Cup football tournament.

The partial subway strike, now in its fifth day, has snarled traffic in South America’s biggest city and added to widespread concerns about whether Brazilian authorities will be able to prevent street protests and other simmering labor disputes from disrupting the Cup.

Shortly after the early morning fracas at the Ana Rosa subway station, the state metro company said it had fired 60 striking workers, a move some feared could increase tensions further. A local court had ruled on Sunday that the strike was illegal.

The subway workers, who are seeking a pay rise of about twice the annual inflation rate, will vote whether to extend the strike at 1 pm local time after a downtown rally that will be joined by Sao Paulo’s homeless workers movement and other protest groups. “The World Cup is not an excuse for us” to strike, Paulo Pasin, president of Fenametro, the country’s union of subway workers, said. “We want to reopen talks.”

The striking workers are pushing for a 12 per cent pay rise, though the state subway company offered 8.7 percent. Other groups, including teachers and bus drivers, have also staged strikes in recent weeks in São Paulo to demand higher pay.

Police patrols were parked outside several other subway stations on Monday, though no other incidents were reported. Traffic police said there were about 200 kilometers of gridlock in the city, compared with about 300 km on Friday.