"Sold out" signs appeared on a growing number of Denmark's gas stations yesterday and store shelves had been emptied of bread after two days of a nationwide general strike.
The government stood firm in its refusal to intervene in the strike by 550,000 workers.
Strikers gathered by the thousands in rallies to press their demand for a sixth week of paid vacation—the main issue in dispute.
"Families and children have a stressed life," said Connie Rasmussen, a mother of two and one of about 5,000 strikers who rallied in Copenhagen. "We want a sixth week of holiday to be with our kids."
"Employers have plenty of money. There is enough money to pay compensation to the working class," said Hardy Hansen, a former union leader and ex-lawmaker.
[Ed.: A German lobbying group called the Working Group for the Unemployed called a series of rallies to demand six weeks of annual paid vacation for people out of work, reasoning that since those looking for work are often under more stress than those with jobs, they need a longer holiday.
