German port workers walk off the job for 2nd consecutive day

Workers at Germany's major North Sea ports walked off the job for the second consecutive day on Friday morning, with the second round of stoppages to last another 24 hours.

The news comes after several port logistics companies sought injunctions to end the first round of stoppages on Thursday. Multiple courts rejected the corporate arguments, however.

Also on Friday, dockworkers took to the streets of Hamburg to demonstrate for their wage demands. According to Verdi, about 5,000 strikers took part.

At around noon (1000 GMT), some participants engaged in clashes with the police. According to police, bottles were thrown by demonstrators and two men were temporarily arrested.

The Verdi union and ZDS, the federal association of companies involved in handling seaborne goods in German sea ports, recently failed to reach a wage compromise in a seventh round of negotiations lasting more than eight hours.

The union is demanding pay increases of up to 14%, depending on the wage group. ZDS has offered up to 12.5%.

The sides are negotiating on behalf of around 12,000 workers employed by 58 companies in Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen covered by collective agreements.

The workers already paralysed ship handling twice in June.

The impact of the current strike on the handling of container and cargo ships is likely to be considerable and bring the loading and unloading of ships largely to a standstill.