Strike action

A four-day strike planned by tens of thousands of doctors in England next week could lead to the postponement of a quarter-million medical appointments, a National Health Service official has said.

Bus and trolley bus drivers in Athens will be walking off the job for five hours on Monday and holding a rally outside the headquarters of the Railway Organization (OSY) at noon in protest at safety lapses on the national rail system that contributed to the deadly train collision in central Greece on February 28.

Slovenian doctors and dentists called off a strike that was supposed to begin on 2 April after receiving in the 11th hour a draft bill laying down the foundations of a new pay system for the public sector.

A 24-hour strike called by workers at the Athens metro for Tuesday was called off after their union said that a "channel of communication" had been opened with the government to resolve long-standing issues.

Members of the United Services Trade Union Ver.di (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft) and the railroad workers' union are on strike. The strike affected all intercity rail traffic, almost all city traffic as well as most airports. The strike also covers maritime traffic in Germany as well as highways.

A major strike brought much of Germany's air traffic, rail service and commuter lines to a halt on Monday as workers demand wage hikes in the face of brisk inflation.

Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe's top economy heeded a call by the Verdi and EVG unions for the 24-hour walkout.

Transport staff across Germany are set to stage a major strike on Monday to push for wage hikes in the face of brisk inflation, as passengers brace for serious disruptions.

Workers at airports, ports, railways, buses and metro lines throughout much of Europe's top economy are expected to heed a call by the Verdi and EVG unions to the 24-hour walkout.

An all-day strike will shut down the Athens metro (lines 2 and 3) on Tuesday, March 28.

In a statement Friday, the employees' union said the strike is in protest over the lack of personnel, equipment and spare parts.

Students, lawyers, teachers, rail workers, members of unions and many others responded to Greece's largest private and public sector unions' call to protest on Thursday over the deadly train crash.

Thousands of Greek workers walked off the job on Thursday and rallied in central Athens to protest failures of safety standards they claim helped cause the country's deadliest train crash, which killed 57 people on Feb. 28.