Strikes hit Germany for second day

Germany was hit by a second wave of public sector strikes on Thursday that disrupted hospitals, kindergartens and transport and piled pressure on the government to improve wages.

As workers' representatives met with employers for a final round of negotiations over pay demands, some 80,000 state employees staged warning strikes, services union Verdi said.

Union officials said no buses or trains were running in Frankfurt, Kassel and Offenbach and some nurseries in the south stayed closed. A separate dispute in Berlin crippled trams, buses and underground trains for a second day running.

Verdi is seeking an eight per cent wage rise for some two million federal and local government staff and has rejected an offer for a total of five per cent spread out over two years.