Bus Drivers Crucify Themselves to Get Jobs Back

Paraguayan men, some wives refuse to budge until all jobs restored
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2013 10:44 AM CDT
Bus Drivers Crucify Themselves Over Layoffs
In this Aug. 16, 2013 file photo, bus driver Felix Aguero lies with his hands nailed to a wooden cross during a protest in Luque, a town in the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay.   (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)

A group of bus drivers in Paraguay is going to extreme measures to get back the jobs they lost: They crucified themselves—three weeks ago, reports the BBC. The men (some media reports say five, other say eight) used 15-inch nails to affix their hands to crosses that have been laid on the ground, and they've been in that position since losing their jobs (media reports again differ, with some saying the men were laid off, and others saying they were fired) after clamoring for better pay and conditions. Their wives are taking turns, too, the Telegraph reports. "I am joining in today. Tomorrow it will be another mom," said one, who asked that the country's president come and see the "inhuman situation."

Some of the men are suffering fevers as well as stomach and chest pains, while four other unions members have been on hunger strike for 36 days, the Daily Mail reports. The bus company has said it will rehire five of the workers and help the other three find new jobs, but the group says it won't budge. "Our position is clear: we want the eight drivers to be reinstated with all employee benefits," the union leader said. "Otherwise the strike is not lifted." (More Paraguay stories.)

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