Bus drivers on strike in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-04 19:44

KUNMING: A total of 72 drivers went on strike Friday in a county in southwest China's Yunnan Province against the company's new policy that might rob them of their livelihoods.

The drivers, whose buses run services in Wuding County, Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Chuxiong, worked for the Wuding Transportation Company under the privately-owned Kunming Transportation Group.

More than 10 drivers and their families went to the Wuding bus station Thursday and tried to stop the departure of six scheduled buses, which triggered a full halt of services early Friday as eight bus routes linking nine villages were suspended, said a Wuding county government official.

The 72 buses could barely meet the demand of local villagers and the strike inconvenienced many people, the unnamed official told Xinhua.

The local government had to temporarily allocate other vehicles to run the services.

The Wuding Transportation Company had been employing private drivers and their vehicles to run regular services, according to a statement issued by the local government.

However, the company had started to purchase its own buses to replace some drivers' outdated vehicles. Fearing the loss of their livelihoods, drivers tried to negotiate with the company to change the policy. The drivers also complained about the high management and operation fees charged by the company.

The local government had sent officials to the scene to deal with the matter, but no agreement had yet been reached so far.