Berlin - German public sector workers increased pressure on the government ahead of pay negotiations at the weekend by staging another round of strikes on Thursday.
Workers in Hamburg, Berlin and the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds the capital, walked out Thursday morning. Trade union Verdi said schools, public authorities, service centres, vehicle licensing centres, building yards and police services would be affected.
Workers also walked out in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, with state ministries, the university and the university hospital in Kiel affected, according to the union.