Transport strike hits more RP cities

Transport strike hits more RP cities

CEBU, Philippines (Reuters): A new wave of transport strikes
crippled Cebu, a major central Philippine city, yesterday but
officials used dump trucks to ferry workers and lessen the impact
of the walkouts elsewhere, police said.

The protests were to culminate later in the day with a planned
march by thousands of leftist workers on the presidential palace
in Manila.

The strikes by drivers of buses, taxis and pedicabs followed
warnings from a senior government minister that the economic
crisis gripping the country, if mishandled, could provoke social
unrest.

Scores of public transport drivers stayed off Cebu's streets
disrupting about 50 percent of business activity in the bustling
industrial area of 1.4 million people, initial police reports
said.