South Korean railway workers started a strike over pay and working conditions yesterday, defying a government arbitration order and halting hundreds of services, the state-run railway corporation said.

But another union representing subway workers struck a last-minute deal with the management before dawn, averting a separate planned strike on Seoul?s subway system. A railway corporation official said the rail union and management had yet to resume talks, despite reports that they had returned to the negotiating table.

?We have a strike, and the 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) deadline for the workers to return to work has passed?, the official said by telephone from the railway corporation's headquarters in Taejon, south of Seoul. ?Those who continue to stay off the job face will punishment, including dismissal?, he said requesting anonymity. The union is demanding the reinstatement of previously dismissed workers, higher wages and better working conditions, but a strike defying a government arbitration order is illegal under South Korean laws.

The management has called in substitute workers, including retirees and military engineers, to try to keep as many trains running as possible, the railway official said. The strike began on a holiday in South Korea when there are fewer scheduled train services and lighter passenger and cargo loads, but if the stoppage continues it could throw the transport system into chaos.