German public employees hold strike over pay

BERLIN

German public employees staged a strike in various cities on Wednesday due to an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.

Bus, tram and metro drivers stopped work in the southwestern cities of Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Konstanz, causing massive disruption to services.

Authorities in Frankfurt said there will be no tram and subway services on Wednesday.

The strike by garbage collectors left tons of rubbish piled up on the streets in the western city of Hannover.

Waste collection and recycling services were also disrupted in the cities of Oldenburg, Augsburg, and Gottingen.

Employees of Krefeld’s Helios Hospital also stopped work on Wednesday, forcing the management to cancel some of the scheduled appointments and operations.

The port of Hamburg temporarily halted docking of large ships due to the strike by the employees.

The ver.di trade union began a series of walkouts after the second round of collective bargaining negotiations with the government and local authorities ended without agreement last month.

The union, which represents around 2.5 million public sector workers, is demanding a 10.5% and no less than €500 ($539) pay rise amid soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

A new round of negotiations is planned for the end of this month.