The pattern of warning strikes in Germany’s public sector today focuses on the nation’s second-largest city, Hamburg. Besides affecting hospitals, day care centers, and sewage and water services, it will paralyze the function of the sea port, Germany’s largest.
The entrance to the Port of Hamburg was closed Wednesday morning to large ships, due to the announced warning strike. Ships requiring pilotage to steer them into port could neither enter nor leave the port, according to the port authority, HPA. The public sector union Vereinigte Dienstleistungen, or “Verdi,” called on port administration employees to conduct a warning strike from 5:30 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Friday.
