Frankfurt airport hit by fresh strikes

Striking workers at Frankfurt airport are extending their stoppage until Friday evening in a bid to further turn up pressure in their pay dispute, unions said Tuesday.Some 200 so-called "apron control" staff -- who direct aircraft in and out of their parking positions both in the control tower and on the tarmac -- first walked out last Thursday, causing hundreds of flights, primarily domestic and short-haul, to be cancelled so far.

A German labour court slapped a temporary injunction Wednesday on strikes by ground staff at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third-busiest.The court granted an application for an injunction filed by airport operator Fraport and German airline Lufthansa against walkouts by apron control staff, who have been striking since February 16 over demands for higher pay.

Air travellers in Germany could face chaos this week after air traffic controllers at Frankfurt airport said Wednesday they would stage temporary walkouts in a bitter dispute over pay.GdF, the German union for air traffic controllers, said 200 so-called "apron control" staff -- those in charge of directing aircraft in and out of their parking positions -- would halt work between 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm (1400-2100 GMT) on Thursday.The strike could effectively paralyse Germany's largest airport and Europe's third-largest hub.

Air travellers in Germany were hit by a second day of disruption Friday as a result of a walkout by around 200 workers at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third-busiest, in a dispute over pay.After already grounding 172 flights the day before, the so-called "apron control" staff walked off the job again at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) on Friday, said Fraport, the company which owns and operates Germany's largest airport.

When Europe's politicians boldly said a few weeks ago what they have been repeatedly saying every year for the past three, namely that "Europe is fixed" usually just before it breaks all over again, what they meant was that the various stock markets were up. Because if they were actually referring to the European economies, Europe just broke (no pun intended) once more, with the Greek economy once again back to its "new normal" baseline state: a near complete halt as the cold of winter dissipates, and protests and strikes return.

A German union called on its members Sunday to take part in a third warning strike this week at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third busiest, to ratchet up pressure for pay hikes.The GdF union said in a statement that it was asking members to walk off the job for 24 hours from 0400 GMT Monday."We regret that we are forced to take further measures," it said."The rigid stance of Fraport AG leaves us no other choice than to continue our industrial action with all means at our disposal," it added, referring to the airport's operator.

(cag2012)

The Troika wants Greece to make another cut in health-care spending including drugs. However, the government is already not paying pharmacies. In turn pharmacies demand 100% payment or patients do not get drugs. Please consider Greeks pay full price for medicines