TRANSPORT unions announced the suspension late on Monday of a Sao Paulo tube strike — but warned that workers would walk out again tomorrow if pay demands were not met.

Union members voted to temporarily suspend the strike they began last week, but also decided they would take a new vote today.

Meanwhile, another union representing underground workers in Rio de Janeiro said that members would vote on Tuesday evening on whether they too would strike.

Sao Paulo union officials met the state government on Monday afternoon but could not come to agreement on the size of a pay rise for the striking workers.

Their members had clashed with police earlier in the day when they tried to hold a rally in a central station in the city. 

Officers used tear gas and brute force to push the strikers out of the station.

Sindicato dos Metroviarios union president Altino Prazeres said almost all of the 8,000 underground employees had walked off the job.

He insisted that they were not interested in disrupting the World Cup.

“We want to resolve this and are willing to negotiate,” he insisted

Mr Prazeres said workers were willing to negotiate a lower raise than the 12 per cent increase originally demanded if the state-run subway company offered more benefits, but managers had refused.

Sao Paulo state transport secretary Jurandir Fernandes told local reporters that 60 striking workers had been fired.

Bruno Everton, who sells tickets at a subway station and is one of the union’s regional leaders, received a letter on Monday saying he had been dismissed.

“It’s an embarrassment that Brazil is depriving the workers of their rights,” Mr Everton said.

“This is an illegal firing. The government is trying to provoke us.”

A Sao Paulo labour court fined Sindicato dos Metroviarios £104,000 for the first four days of the strike and said it would add £131,000 for each additional day.