Workers at Germany’s largest port, Hamburg, began a two-day strike on Tuesday to demand higher wages.
“The strike started as planned with the early shift at 6:30 am (04:30 GMT),” a spokesman for the Verdi union said.
The workers initially struck decentrally in front of their workplaces. A demonstration will take place on Wednesday, the union said.
Verdi said it wanted to increase pressure on employers in wage negotiations for seaport workers with all-day strikes at the port of Hamburg on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Verdi is demanding an increase in the hourly wage of €3 ($3.20) retroactively from 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 scheduled for 11 and 12 July in Bremen. In June, strikes already took place in several northern German ports, including Hamburg.
