RIO DE JANEIRO, June 05 /ITAR-TASS/. With one week remaining before the 2014 World Cup kicks off in Brazil, subway workers in Sao Paolo went on an open-ended strike on Thursday demanding hike in salaries and better package of social benefits.

The subway system of the city with a population of some 10,000 million serves an approximate 4.5 million daily volume of passengers and is likely to cause chaos in Brazil’s largest city ahead of the global football event.

Sao Paolo, known for its miles-long traffic jams, is hosting six matches of the World Cup, including the championship’s inauguration game on June 12 between the teams of Brazil and Croatia at the 70,000-seat Itakeran stadium.

Brazil was subjected to civil unrest in recent weeks with people going on strikes and demonstrations voicing their concern that the government spent too much money on hosting the World Cup, while the country was on the brink of poverty.