Workers at German ports go on strike over wage dispute

Workers at Germany's largest port in Hamburg in the north of the country started a two-day strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages, with workers from the port in Bremerhaven to the west of Hamburg to join the industrial action on Tuesday afternoon.

"The strike has started as planned with the early shift at 6:30 am [0430 GMT]," said a spokesman for the verdi trade union.

The employees are initially striking on a decentralized basis in front of their workplaces, and there will be a demonstration on Wednesday, the union said.

Verdi said it wanted to increase the pressure on employers in the wage negotiations for employees in seaports with the all-day strikes at the Hamburg port on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Port workers in Bremerhaven are also planning to strike again, with some 3,200 employees from the city of Bremen and nearby Bremerhaven are to paralyse the port from Tuesday afternoon, a verdi spokesman said.

Verdi is demanding an increase in hourly wages of €3 ($3.20) retroactively to June 1 and a corresponding increase in shift allowances.

A further round of negotiations between verdi and the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) is planned for July 11 and 12 in Bremen. Strikes already took place in several northern German ports, including Hamburg, in June.