UPDATE 1-German unions stop rail strike ahead of talks

Published 10/26/2010, 10:33 AM
Updated 10/26/2010, 10:36 AM

* Unions say 1,700 workers took part in Tuesday walkout

* Unions want wage deal that covers the entire sector

(Adds end of strikes, impact)

BERLIN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Unions called off a limited strike that disrupted rail travel on Germany's national network on Tuesday and said they would not stage any further stoppages before a new round of wage talks on Friday.

The unions, which had said on Monday that the strike would continue throughout the week, gave no reason for the change in their stance.

The states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria were worst affected by the walkouts on Tuesday, unions GDBA and Transnet said, adding that the temporary warning strikes on local and regional trains had also caused delays in Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony.

They said some 1,700 workers had taken part in the action, aimed at backing their demand that national operator Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL] and private operators improve offers in wage negotiations that have reached an impasse.

They are demanding wage agreements be set across the industry so that private operators cannot use lower pay to boost their competitiveness in bids to win lucrative rail contracts.

Unions and Deutsche Bahn say private operators pay their workers up to 20 percent less for the same work. The next round of talks is scheduled for Friday. (Reporting by Markus Wacket, Brian Rohan; editing by Noah Barkin)

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