Nicaraguan Drivers Put Off General Strike
Nicaragua´s Drivers Union decided to postpone the general strike they had planned for Monday in Managua but the 7-day stoppage of public transportation continues.

The protesters demand monthly subsidies of 1.1 million dollars or a license to raise to 20 cents of dollars the current 0.15 cent tariff to balance the losses inflicted by the mounting fuel price.

The government rejected their demand based on a draft bill designed to increase the income taxes of oil companies and Managua´s mayor refuses to affect the most economically vulnerable sectors, which make the mayority of the 850,000 daily commuters.

Union leader Rafael Quinto told El Nuevo Diario daily they had decided to put off the strike after his union started negotiations with the government, which is willing -he said- to settle the labor dispute.

Only half of the 900 buses operating in Managua are circulating today, and the union leader warned that another 200 would go out of line next Wednesday.

Still Quinto´s hope of a possible agreement contradicts Friday´s statements by President Enrique Bolanos, who said that the labor issue is the mayor's problem.