The strike is a result of hearse drivers saying they have not been paid their salary for two months.

Feliciano Alves, a father whose child died on Monday, said an absence of official transport to carry the dead had forced him to transport his young son by motorbike from HNGV to the port in Dili in order to bury his child on Atauro Island.

“I feel very sad when I had to carry the corpse by motorbike as there is no one at NHGV to assist,” Alves told the Independente on Tuesday.

Eládio Faculto, a member of parliament, called on the government to intervene in the situation to ensure Timorese people could bury their loved ones with dignity.

Mateus da Silva, the Director of Solidarity and Social, said the salary dispute was expected to be rectified by week-end.