french and german strike waves

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

France faces fifth day of strikes



Transport services in the capital will be severely disrupted on Sunday
French rail workers have rejected a new offer of talks by employers, voting to extend their action against President Nicolas Sarkozy's pension reforms.
The country's largest rail union said the offer by state rail firm SNCF "did not respond to all the issues".
Crippling transport strikes were therefore set to extend to a fifth day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7100215.stm

Deutsche Bahn sues striking GDL Union for $7.3m
Deutsche Bahn is suing the GDL train drivers union for around US$7.3 million in damages due to its strike.
Deutsche Bahn spokesman Bernd Weiler said the company has filed the lawsuit at a labour court in Frankfurt.
The railway company has filed for damages incurred during warning strikes on July 10. Deutsche Bahn claimed that the strikes were illegal at this point, as not all wage negotiations had been officially broken off.
Meanwhile the company warned of negative consequences for the company if plans for its partial privatisation are scrapped.
The government's plans to sell as much as 49 percent of Deutsche Bahn, in what would be Germany's last major privatisation, have become mired in a dispute between the partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left "rand” coalition.
http://www.cargonewsasia.com/secured/article.aspx?id=20&article=14782