Bus drivers end strike, resume service in Bazhong

Shanghai, June 11 (Gasgoo.com) Public transportation services returned to normal yesterday afternoon in a southwestern Chinese city after bus drivers ended strike, xinhuanet.com reported.

The drivers in the downtown area of Bazhong city, Sichuan province, went on strike yesterday morning to draw attention to their low pay, long hours and safety concerns. A deputy director of the municipal planning and construction bureau confirmed that the public transport has fully resumed in the city in northeast Sichuan.

All 100 buses with the city's only bus company, Bazhong Bashan Public Transport Co., did not run at 6:40 a.m. as usual, said the company. Passengers were left standing at bus stops and many ended up walking to work or school or taking taxis as drivers refused to operate buses in the morning.

About 30 buses resumed services at 7:30 a.m. after talks between drivers and officials. The local government met with drivers at a school from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. All the other drivers returned to work after the authorities agreed to hear their demands and set up a new salary mechanism.

Drivers said they wanted reduced working hours and higher pay. They work about 13 hours a day, at least 20 days a month, and earn only1,500 yuan ($219) to 1,800 yuan a month.

The drivers also demanded a full-scale safety inspection of their buses after a deadly fire on June 5 killed 27 and injured 76 on a bus in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan.