(22 Oct 2004) SHOTLIST
Brussels
1. Wide pan of empty tram tracks
2. Medium shot of empty tram tracks
3. Various of empty tram station and sign saying service disrupted due to union action
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Voxpop:
"I wasn't aware of this strike. I've been waiting here and decided to check the schedule and realised there was a strike on. I suppose it was just announced in local papers. I have a class at 9 o'clock but I'm going to be late for that so I'm going to start walking."
5. Various of empty tram tracks and traffic jam.
6. Various of traffic.
7. People walking to work.
8. SOUNDBITE: (French) Voxpop:
"I actually come from Liege so I depend a lot on the SNCB (National train service) but usually to go from work to meetings I use the metro but it's true that there is a problem since it is all on strike, so I used the SNCB to fill the gap."
9. Various of traffic.
Rome
10. Long shot traffic in piazza Venezia, Rome downtown
11. Traffic
12. Bus stop
13. Policeman controlling traffic
14. Horse coach in the traffic
15. Various of traffic and buses going to the garage for the strike
16. SOUNDBITE: (Italian) Mario Buffone, City police officer:
"We have noticed that traffic has increased, as the Limited Traffic Zone (Rome's centre) has been opened for the public transportation strike. Italian and Roman drivers were looking forward for the opening and as soon as they had the chance to enter with private means they entered".
17. Various of traffic
STORYLINE:
Commuters in parts of Belgium and Italy faced a day of disruption on Friday as public transport workers went on strike.
Labour unions paralysed the public transport system in the Belgian capital with a strike for improved working conditions.
The action followed a series of wildcat stoppages by drivers on Thursday after a collision between two streetcars left four people hospitalised with head or spinal injuries and more than 50 passengers treated for shock, cuts and bruises.
Union leaders blamed the accident on autumn leaves on the rails and on the pressure drivers face to stick to timetables. They said it illustrated wider issues of poor working conditions and demanded more staff, longer breaks and fewer cuts in services.
Fears of rush hour chaos on the roads were eased as many commuters took Friday off.
Services there were due to resume at 0100 (local time) on Saturday (2300 Friday GMT).
Local public transportation workers also went on strike today for 24 hours in Rome and Milan, in order to struggle for the renewal of their contracts which expire on 31 December 2004.
However, in the Italian capital the impact of the strike on people travelling to work was softened by the use of personal cars and by a minimum number of buses working in the early morning.
The Metro closed at 0900 local time (11GMT) and will reopen at 1700 local time (1900), just to provide transportation to workers.
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