German labour office boss under fire over contract

BERLIN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Florian Gerster, the head of Germany's Federal Labour Office, came under mounting pressure on Wednesday over a 1.3 million-euro ($1.53 million) public relations contract that was awarded without inviting tenders.

Opposition lawmakers called for Gerster's resignation, accusing him of extravagance at a time when Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens is moving to trim spending on jobless benefits and increase ...