FIFA World Cup Workers Strike Briefly in Curitiba

More than 50 workers launched the impromptu strike at the Arena da Baixada by gathering in front of the offices of football club Atletico Paranaense, where about two dozen aggrieved cleaning company employees cut off traffic for about 15 minutes.

© AFP

World Cup workers in the southeastern Brazilian city of Curitiba protesting at unpaid wages briefly stopped traffic on Friday outside the stadium where four games will be played.

More than 50 workers launched the impromptu strike at the Arena da Baixada by gathering in front of the offices of football club Atletico Paranaense, where about two dozen aggrieved cleaning company employees cut off traffic for about 15 minutes.

A representative of the Brazilian club eventually coaxed the workers off the street and into a meeting.

Neither FIFA nor Atletico Paranaense, which plays at the Baixada, would comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday.