Bucharest Bus and Tram Drivers Go on Strike

More than 4,500 bus and tram drivers in Bucharest staged a strike without warning Thursday, demanding the annulment of wage and bonus cuts that are part of austerity measures.

The strike disrupted travel for about two million people, leading to crowding on the city’s subway. The state-owned subway company, Metrorex, increased its transport capacity by 15 percent Thursday, its general manager said.

The Romanian government froze wages for 1.3 million public workers this year and said it would cut 100,000 jobs to meet budget demands set by the International Monetary Fund, which is leading a ¤20 billion, or $27 billion, package of loans to the country. That compares with state pay increases of about 20 percent in 2008.