Striking Hungarian railway workers went back to work Monday morning ahead of negotiations with management later in the day, the local MTI News Agency reported.
The industrial action, which ended at 9:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), had succeeded in prompting rail operator MAV to resume negotiations with workers in the afternoon, said VDSZSZ union chairman Istvan Gasko.
Less than half of Hungary's passenger trains were running Monday morning, said MAV, which warned of delays and cancellations. Commuter tickets would be available on long-distance bus routes, the group added.
The new round of negotiations was due to restart at 3:00 p.m. local time (1400GMT). The union is demanding a one-off payment of 250,000 forints (about 1,450 U.S. dollars) per employee from the proceeds of a privatization deal by MAV, as well as a 10 percent pay-rise on top of the already agreed 6.9 percent, which was reluctantly accepted by MAV.
MAV spokesman Imre Kavalecz expected the rail network to be back to normal by the evening.
The union's open-ended strike started on Feb. 1 and has been suspended several times without agreement.
Source: Xinhua
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