Nearly 200 buses were left standing idle in Shenzhen's Bao'an District on Tuesday morning as the drivers went on strike in a bitter row over money withheld by their boss in the form of "reserve fund."

Some 20,000 residents in the district were affected by the strike, yesterday's Southern Metropolis Daily said.

At a bus terminal in Songgang on Tuesday morning, more than 20 workers sat near the entrance to the terminal. They told the Daily that they were waiting for the result of negotiations conducted by representatives of the labor authority, drivers and their boss.

A worker known only by his last name Zhang said the strike was the result of their boss deducting money from their wages as a "reserve fund" without giving them a receipt over the past month. The boss is also accused of collecting 1,000 yuan (US$131.58) from each employee as a training fee, making them feel that their interests have been infringed upon.

Earlier this year, about 70 drivers were each deducted 6,000 yuan from their wages as a "deposit" over two months while some 80 bus conductors were each deducted 3,000 yuan. The "deposits" were returned to them after their boss received a warning from the labor authorities.

According to China's Labor Law, employers are not allowed to collect deposits or guarantee money from employees when signing contracts.

A driver who refused to be identified said the "reserve fund" was only "the straw that broke the camel's back." The real reason was the inhumane management, he said.

Some drivers told the Daily that they had to get up at 4 a.m. every day and work 16 to 17 hours a day. The drivers were required to use less than 110 liters of gasoline per bus a day. The first time the "target" was not met, the drivers would be asked to write a "written pledge" and the second time the drivers failed to meet the “target,” they would have to “take a month off,” during which time they could not live in the dormitories, nor would they be allowed to have meals at the company. The drivers, under pressure from the company regulation, had to switch off air conditioners even in summer to save fuel, bringing complaints and even abuse from passengers.

Officials at the bus company refused to comment on the incident. As of press time yesterday, no information about the result of the negotiations was available.(Eunice Kang)