Hospital doctors in six of Germany’s 16 states began a one-day strike on Thursday in the latest of a wave of employment disputes to disrupt the country this year.

Several thousand participants were expected at a rally in the Bavarian capital Munich, according to the Marburger Bund association of German doctors, which is demanding a 2.5% pay increase for 55,000 doctors working in municipal hospitals.

“Our members do not feel taken seriously by the employers so far. We have the impression that the employers want to delay the collective bargaining,” the association’s president Andreas Botzlar said.

According to the union, emergency treatment of patients is guaranteed in affected clinics.

German employers and unions could not reach an agreement in talks over public service pay, at least for now, negotiators told (dpa) in the early hours of Thursday.

This was the third round of collective bargaining negotiations which had stalled earlier as both sides failed to agree on pay amid rising inflation.

The talks in Potsdam between the government, local authorities and union representatives were held against the backdrop of massive strikes in the transport sector that largely brought rail and air travel to a halt in much of Germany.

Verdi boss Frank Werneke said the “differences could not be bridged” and the trade union declared the talks’ failure.

Verdi and the civil servants’ association dbb have been negotiating with the federal and local governments since January over the incomes of some 2.5 million employees.

As inflation rises, Verdi and the dbb are demanding 10.5% more income, or at least 500 euros ($538) more per month, over a 12-month period.

Employers offered 8% more pay and a minimum of 300 euros more per month as well as a one-off payments of 3,000 euros. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency