Talks begin to try to end a nationwide strike in Denmark

A direct appeal by the Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, has led to the first talks to try to resolve a nationwide strike which has all but paralysed Denmark's factories and ports.

Nearly half-a-million workers are taking action to demand a sixth week of annual paid holiday.

At first, the employers refused to negotiate with the unions, but they agreed to meet after Mr Rasmussen urged the two sides to reach a settlement without outside help.

The strike is Denmark's biggest industrial dispute for thirteen years and it's estimated to be costing nearly a-hundred and fifty million dollars a day in lost production.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service