Strike disrupts bus service in Swedish capital

A strike Wednesday disrupted bus service in Stockholm and two other Swedish cities as employers and unions failed to bridge differences over wages and employment conditions, DPA reported. About 1,400 bus drivers and other public transport workers were on strike. The labour dispute also impacted the northern city of Umea and Sodertalje, just south of Stockholm. Stockholm Public Transport estimated about 100,000 commuters in the greater Stockholm region were affected and advised them to consider walking, cycling or car pooling. A main sticking point is a union demand that employees be offered an employment guarantee when a new entrepreneur wins a tender to operate bus services, said Lenita Granlund, negotiator for the municipal workers union Kommunal, which organizes the bus drivers and other public transport employees.