1 About 4,000 workers went on strike Thursday in a troubled western Romania town to protest economic hardships and broken promises, unions said.
2 Workers from the machinery plant in the western town of Resita, 350 kilometers (219 miles) west of Bucharest, demanded hefty pay increases.
3 Just before Christmas, 15,000 workers in Resita struck for eight days, in what was the worst labor unrest in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989.
4 Premier Nicolae Vacaroiu went to the factory then and gave into most of their demands. He promised the government would seek foreign partners for the plant, and provide credits by February.
5 Workers claim that mismanagement has damaged one the biggest machinery plants in the country and that the government has failed to keep all its promises. This time they are demanding an almost three-fold pay increase to 300,000 lei (dlrs 167) per month.
6 The current average wage is 112,000 (dlrs 62), said union spokeswoman Petronela Faur by telephone. The average monthly wage in Romania equals about dlrs 90.
7 'Our workers had enough lies and promises from the management, we want true facts now,' said Faur. She said angry workers broke into the manager's office Thursday to demand higher pay.
8 Romania's transformation to a market economy since the collapse of communism has been plagued by discontent. State-owned industries are often in debt because of a production slump and the loss of old trading partners. Wages are often late or unpaid.

Workers from the machinery plant in the western town of Resita , 350 kilometers ( 219 miles ) west of Bucharest , demanded hefty pay increases .
demanded hefty pay increases
How large of an increase was being called for?