Strikes in support of a pay demand delayed delivery of around 1 million letters and several hundred thousand parcels in Germany on one day, a spokesman for the German postal service Deutsche Post said in Bonn.
The effects had, however, been less serious than during the strikes at the company over several days last month, the spokesman said. Deutsche Post is a listed logistical company that emerged from the state monopoly in 1995.
The Verdi trade union called the strike, which is set to continue, in support of a 15% pay demand.
"Anyone who believes that a demand of 15% is too high is simply unable to calculate," Verdi boss Frank Werneke told a rally of several hundred strikers in Berlin. He pointed to inflation of almost 8% last year and a predicted 6% to 7% for this year as cutting real take-home pay.
"We aim to halt the inflation monster, we aim to secure real wages, because we have earned them," Werneke said, adding that everyone had a right to a full fridge and a warm home. "We do not accept the alternative to go hungry or to freeze."
Verdi chief negotiator Andrea Kocsis noted that Deutsche Post, which includes the DHL Group, was posting record profits. "We are going to get your share of that," she told the rally. "It's your turn now, before we start talking about dividends."
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A single purchase
