The ten-day subte strike has brought the city of Buenos Aires to its knees as commuters try to make their way in and through the city of three million residents. More cars are on the road, which just increases the traffic and the delays all around. Tempers are flaring on all sides of the conflict and cooler heads are having a hard time prevailing and the porteños are making do as best they can. Photographers Beatrice Murch and Madeleine Decker bring you a glimpse of the chaos.

Drivers of the 60 bus line will continue to strike indefinitely according to ‘La Nación’, as talks between the union heads and members of the Ministry of Labour broke down this afternoon.

250,000 people a day are set to be affected by the decision, as the strike covers all 19 branches and 371 buses on the line.

This latest strike comes as a reaction by drivers to the failure of the bus company’s new owners to fairly distribute the profits from a recent liquidation of assets, as well as their unwillingness to officially recognise the workers’ union.

Members of the Union of Automotive Transportation (UTA) met with company delegates at the Ministry of Labour last week and a agreement was reached. However, the strike began again two days ago after union members accused their employers of breaking the terms of the agreement.

The union members now have no intention of going back to work until their demands are met. “Monsa decides when the strike ends,” a spokesman for the workers said this afternoon, referring to the name of the bus company. “Until we are paid, we will not go to work.”

The Pan-American Highway could be next to see disruption, as union members threaten to take their protest there if the company continues to breach the terms of the agreement laid down last week.

The Subte strike which paralysed the city’s transport services on Tuesday is now over, but union officials threaten further action next week if demands are not met by the Government. Clarín estimated that some 1.3m commuters were affected by the strike action.

The strike was total, lasting the entirety of Tuesday and bringing to a standstill every subte line. Subte operators Metrovías attempted to run a skeleton service in the morning, but were thwarted when picketers made their way onto the tracks, stopping any trains from passing through the city.

The company then attempted to get a judicial order to forcibly remove picketers from the lines, but this use of police force was rejected by judge Julián Ercolini. All lines are running as scheduled now, but there is talk of further stoppages next week, possibly of a period as long as 48 hours.

The stoppage is the second in a week, after similar events unfolded last Thursday. Subte workers are fighting to get government recognition for their new union, La Asociación Gremial de Trabajadores del Subterráneo y Premetro , and confirm their split from the recognised Union Tranviarios Automotores (UTA).

Tuesday’s stoppage differed from the previous week in that it occurred without UTA backing, signalling the intent of unionists to demonstrate their independent support. UTA secretary general Roberto Fernández labelled the strikers “agitators”, while union leader Hugo Moyano organised a march in Plaza de Mayo against what he called “destabilizing forces.”