Sao Paulo's transit workers strike one week before World Cup

People crowd onto a bus outside of a station during a metro strike in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine)

Subway and overland commuter train operators have gone on strike in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the city that's hosting the World Cup's opening match, meaning fans might have to find another way to the stadium, reports the Associated Press.

Workers are looking for a 10 percent increase in pay, while the company that runs the subway system is offering an 8.7 percent pay increase.

More than four million people use the transit system everyday in Sao Paulo and many were not happy when they arrived on Thursday to find some stations closed, according to the report. Some commuters kicked down the metal barriers at two entryways and others jumped onto tracks protesting the closures.

The World Cup starts June 12, with Brazil squaring off against Croatia in Sao Paulo.

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Sao Paulo is notorious for congested roadways and crowded public transport, the failures and costs of which have stoked protests over the past year. In response to the strike, Sao Paulo's government suspended a rule that restricts passenger cars from entering the central part of the city.

That led to extreme congestion on main roadways, with the government's transit authority saying the city was seeing its worst traffic of the year so far. A separate strike by traffic police, demanding higher wages, aggravated the congestion.

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