German postal workers strike to support pay demand

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7463838

BERLIN, April 15 (Reuters) - Several thousand German postal staff staged warning strikes on Tuesday to support their demand for a 7 percent pay rise from employer Deutsche Post.

"As a result, most letter boxes in Germany will remain empty tomorrow," said a spokesman for service sector union Verdi. "Only mail delivered within cities is likely to be unaffected." "Several thousand" postal workers across all of Germany's 16 states had participated in the stoppages, but it was too early to say exactly how many were involved, he added.
The union is seeking a 12-month contract for the company's 130,000 employees in Germany. It has threatened to stage an unlimited strike if no deal is reached in talks on April 17-18.

Some two million German public sector workers two weeks ago won an increase worth just over 5 percent for 2008, their biggest pay rise in 16 years. Other sectors have struck similar deals, fuelling speculation this will bolster expectations elsewhere.
With annual inflation in the euro area already at a record high of 3.5 percent, the European Central Bank has urged unions to moderate their wage demands to keep prices in check.

Earlier, union IG Metall said it had negotiated an agreement with employers for a staggered 6.5 percent pay rise over two years for 54,000 auto mechanics in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Workers in the southwestern state got a 1.9 percent rise in 2007.

Separately, the German journalists' union (DJV) said it would press for a 7.5 percent pay rise for the 22,000 staff at newspapers and magazines in wage talks this year. Their current deal ends on July 31, 2008. The last accord gave newspaper staff a 2.5 percent rise spread over more than 2 years, the DJV said. Magazine journalists got a 2.2 percent raise plus one-off payments worth 440 euros ($697) in total. (Reporting by Dave Graham, editing by David Christian-Edwards)