Germany's public sector strikes hit fifth week

STUTTGART, Germany, Mar 6 (Reuters) Thousands of German public sector employees walked out of work again today, kicking off a fifth week of German public sector strikes over plans to extend working hours and cut bonuses.

According to services union Verdi, more than 28,000 state and communal authority workers staged walkouts in nine states in what is Germany's biggest public sector strike in 14 years.

Verdi head Frank Bsirske said at a rally in Stuttgart in southern Germany that the union was ready for more talks, but accused public sector employers of making provocative demands.

''We are ready to negotiate at any time,'' said Bsirske as kindergartens stayed shut and rubbish piled up across Germany.

The protests centre on plans by some state and local authority employers to increase the working week from about 38.5 to 40 hours or more and to cut holiday and Christmas bonuses.

Over the weekend, Thuringia's state Premier Dieter Althaus said he would like his employees to work 42 hours a week.

''My aim is to raise working hours of our employees from 40 to 42 hours,'' Althaus wrote in weekly Bild am Sonntag.

Workers in Thuringia voted last week in favour of joining the strikes which are set to start tomorrow.

Separately, employees in the metal and engineering sector staged brief walkouts at DaimlerChrysler and other firms in protest over plans to cut paid breaks for accord workers, whose terms and conditions are agreed collectively. More than half of the 3,200 workers downing their tools were working at DaimlerChrysler plants.

Metal and engineering workers' union IG Metall is also demanding a 5 per cent wage hike from employers. While no deal could be struck in negotiations up to now, the workers cannot launch strikes before March 28.

REUTERS VJ RAI0336