Buenos Aires, Jan 29 (IANS): Argentine railway workers went on strike Tuesday to demand higher wages, a move criticised by President Javier Milei's government for leaving a million passengers stranded.

Local and regional train service in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area was suspended by the six-hour stoppage, from 9 am to 3 pm local time (1200 GMT to 2100 GMT), led by the La Fraternidad union.

The union announced the strike on January 21, demanding higher wages along with an additional 153,000 pesos (145 US dollars), 10 per cent of a worker's salary, to cover the cost of a basic food basket and offset the inflation-driven loss of purchasing power.

The state-owned company Trenes Argentinos Operaciones released a statement on Monday that the strike would affect about a million passengers.

"Due to this strike, it is estimated that the National State will lose more than 100 million pesos in the payment of fares for those who will not be able to make their trips," it said.

Railway staff are demanding a 46 per cent wage increase to offset the loss of purchasing power since Milei's government took office in December 2023, while authorities have offered just 3.5 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

Due to the strike, the Argentine government lost more than 100 million pesos in the payment of fares.

Trenes Argentinos Operaciones said that the strike did not affect long-distance services that departed during the said time slot from and to Mar del Plata.

Directly, Trenes Argentinos manages the urban passenger lines Sarmiento, Mitre, San Martin, Roca, Belgrano Sur and Tren de la Costa; the regional services of Entre Ríos, Salta, Chaco, Neuquén and Cordoba; and the long-distance services Buenos Aires-Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires-Pinamar, Buenos Aires-Cordoba, Buenos Aires-Rosario, Buenos Aires-Junín, Buenos Aires-Justo Daract, Buenos Aires-Bragado and Buenos Aires-Tucuman.

It also has an operating agreement with the company Casimiro Zbikoski for the provision of the Posadas-Encarnación service.