Workers at several northern German seaports on Monday ramped up the pressure on employers with a further strike as they entered a third round of talks over pay.
In Hamburg alone, the industrial action largely paralysed port and container handling from 5 am on Monday (0300 GMT), according to the trade union Verdi.
"The port of Hamburg is at a standstill," said a union spokesman.
The same applied to the ports of Brake and Emden in the state of Lower Saxony, as well as the ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven. Ships would not be handled at the large container terminals, the spokesman said.
According to the union, the strike should last between 24 and 48 hours, depending on the location, in parallel to the third round of negotiations on Monday and Tuesday.
Among other things, Verdi is demanding a €3 ($3.20) increase in hourly wages retroactively to June 1 and a corresponding increase in shift allowances for employees over 12 months.
The Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) has so far offered a wage increase of 2.5% from June, but at least 60 cents more per hour. Shift premiums are to rise by between 24 cents and €2.50.
