61.   Keating warned that if this relationship is broken, strong unions in key industries will stage strikes and pursue big pay hikes while other workers will be left behind.

62.   Meanwhile, police arrested over the weekend five state telecommunications union leaders who allegedly organized a series of illegal labor protests in recent months, seeking higher pay hikes.

63.   Neto pledged measures to ease the crisis, including pay hikes for public administration workers and improvements to the public transport system.

64.   On Thursday, an independent committee appointed by Goh in November, endorsed the ministerial pay hike.

65.   President Ahmet Necdet Sezer last week vetoed a constitutional amendment giving pay hikes to members of parliament and called for a referendum on the issue.

66.   Serpa said the demands for a pay hike should be negotiated with individual companies, not the government.

67.   Supporters contend that pay hikes would not increase inflation, because state and city level officials will not receive the same percentage increases.

68.   Sixteen unions sued the government, saying it was illegal to roll back the pay hikes.

69.   Strikes for pay hikes have been rare in recent years.

70.   The bill was drawn up to force the teachers to renegotiate the pay hikes.