SAO PAULO — Brazilian police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse striking workers inside a subway station on Friday, adding to fears that labor unrest could disrupt the World Cup that opens here in six days.
At least three union members were injured in the Sao Paulo clash, said Paulo Iannone, a union spokesman.
Operators of the subway and overland trains were in the second day of a strike for higher wages, with no indication that it would end soon. That’s worrying for authorities because most soccer fans heading to Thursday’s opening Cup match in Sao Paulo will need to use the subway.
Cup organizers have fretted for a year that a resurgence of mass anti-government protests could mar soccer’s premiere event, with all the world watching.
But in recent weeks, a series of strikes by public transport workers, police, teachers and others in several Cup host cities has proved more disruptive than demonstrations.
If such strikes continue, “there will be chaos during the World Cup,” said Carla Dieguez, a sociologist at Sao Paulo University’s School of Sociology and Politics.
“What we don’t know is how long the (subway) strike will last and if workers in others cities where games will be held will also go on strike,” she said.
Unions across Brazil are using the leverage of the World Cup in an effort to get concessions from authorities, as has happened before other big sporting events. Ahead of South Africa’s World Cup in 2010, bus drivers went on strike.
So far, it’s often worked, as in the case of federal police officers and garbage collectors in Rio de Janeiro who have won better wages recently.
The union said on its website the strike would continue until officials met its demand for a pay hike of at least 10 percent. The Sao Paulo state government company that runs the subway system has offered an 8.7 percent increase.
A recent subway strike in Sao Paulo illustrated the potential for disruptions during the World Cup. The more than 3.5 million people who use the city’s public transit systems on weekdays faced chaos as only three of the five subway lines operated, and with limited service.
“It is opportunism. They want a pay raise and are using the World Cup as a tool,” said Pedro Araujo, an annoyed truck driver. “Yes, we want to fight for our rights and for what is fair, but not like this, affecting everyone.”