German state workers stage strike over pay

Thousands of German public sector workers staged strikes yesterday to press for more pay during the worst economic downturn in decades, in actions that affected transport and schools across the country.

Public transport ground to a halt in 10 cities across Bavaria, while schools and hospitals suffered walk-outs in northern Germany, service sector union Verdi said.

Local authorities and schools were also affected in the east of the country, it added.

Verdi is leading negotiations for a raise of eight per cent for some 700,000 employees of federal states, and the settlement is due to be applied to around 1.3 million civil servants.

The separate pay demand for transport staff in Bavaria is higher, with the union pushing for a 9.5 per cent raise.

"Workers deserve good money for good work," said Frank Riegler, Verdi transport sector wage negotiator in Bavaria.

Trade unions in Germany settled for job security over wage gains for several years as unemployment fell steadily from a post-war high above five million in 2005. But last year they began pushing for more pay.

Verdi said it would ballot its members on whether to hold larger-scale strikes if the states did not table a pay offer at a wage negotiating meeting for the 700,000 scheduled for February 14-15 in the city of Potsdam near Berlin.

Yesterday's strikes in Germany followed marches last week by hundreds of thousands of French workers to demand pay rises and job protection. Britons fearing job losses have also staged protests.

The German government expects the economy, Europe's largest, to contract by some 2.25 per cent this year, which would easily be its poorest annual performance since World War II. Some analysts have said it could shrink by four per cent or more.

Verdi said more than 3,000 workers joined the transport strikes in Bavaria. Another 4,000 went on strike in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Verdi chief Frank Bsirske led another 14,000 in a protest in Hanover.

Wage negotiations for the Bavarian workers are due to recommence tomorrow.