Budapest - Hungarian railway workers on Monday took renewed strike action after weekend talks aimed at resolving a wage dispute failed. Employees from the Railway Workers Free Trade Union and other unions walked out at 3 am (0200 GMT) for what they said was an indefinite period, mirroring their actions last Friday.
Friday's strike was called off after nine hours with more wage talks with Hungarian Railways (MAV) set for Saturday.
However, the talks failed to bring a compromise, with MAV reluctant to meet the union's demands of a 10-per-cent wage rise and also a payment for workers from money earned from the privatization of MAV's cargo division.
The three main stations in Budapest were effectively shut down Monday morning, although some trains were running from smaller stations. Rail stations in rural areas were also hit.
Talks were set to continue throughout Monday.
Prior to the current round of strikes, rail workers walked out after disputes over the closure of secondary railway lines and also government plans to introduce private capital into the health insurance system.
So far the transport problems caused have been limited, as the strikes are usually abandoned within six to ten hours.
